Little Brother Lost
by darksidechick
Summary: Seto Kaiba's sudden departure breaks Mokuba's heart and turns his young life upside down. He is thrown into a new unknown world with little knowledge, confidence, and only few allies to rely on for guidance. Can he successfully follow in his brother's footsteps? And how long can he hold out hope for his brother's return?
1. Celebrations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did, it would still be airing on TV with our favorite spiky haired protagonist. Everything belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.**

 **A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I've written a YGO fanfiction. For you Mokuba Kaiba fans, I think you will be pleased. A good portion of this story is going to be Mokie-centric. Upcoming chapters will reveal more of that.**

 **With the new film** _ **Dark Side of Dimensions**_ **being released, I've recently gotten back into the series (and YGO's fantastic fanfiction following) and as soon as I saw the new movie I got the idea for this story. This tale essentially takes place at the end of/after** _ **DSOD**_ **. If you haven't seen the movie….um, mini spoiler alert? But don't worry. The first couple of chapters won't reveal any major plot spoilers. I'll save the heavier material for after the movie's official US DVD release the end of this month.**

 **On a side note, today is June 4th. Happy Birthday Yugi!**

 **And now, onto the story!**

Prologue: Celebrations

Cheers erupted in the courtyard of Domino High school as diploma scrolls launched into the air. It was a time for celebration for Yugi and his friends. Finally, their days of school bells and homework, and with it, the constant habit of saving the world, were behind them.

Grandpa Solomon Muto couldn't be prouder as he stood a bit off to the side and watched the teenagers in their glee as they mingled with some of the other members of their class. He knew how difficult the school years had been for Yugi, especially before he had completed the millennium puzzle. His grandson remained a loner, and he could recall the heartbreaking afternoons when Yugi would come home from school sporting various scrapes and bruises along his face; parting favors from the school bullies. But then, came the emergence of the Pharaoh's spirit, and with him came the closest group of friends he had ever seen. Joey, Tristan. Téa, Ryou…that group had been through so much together. Granted, most of their adventures had something, or…everything to do with a trading card game and ancient Egyptian magic…but why dabble with ordinary pastimes?

As time passed on, the crowd of graduates slowly started to thin out. Grandpa checked the time on his watch and turned around. A black limo was pulling up to the gate. _Right on time._ The elder man grinned and slowly and subtly, made his way to the vehicle as a young boy with messy shoulder length black hair popped out and waved.

"Hi Mr. Muto!"

"Ah, Mokuba! It's good to see you." Grandpa smiled, giving the young boy a small hug. "Is everything ready?"

Mokuba nodded and gave a small grin. "Yup! I just came from the restaurant!" He moved closer and whispered, "Do you think they suspect anything?"

Solomon chuckled, "I don't believe so. I only promised them a celebration after the ceremony. I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"Awesome!" The child beamed. "Well, I suppose it's time to make my presence known. Watch this!" Mokuba moseyed over to where the gang were huddled and snuck up behind Joey. He shot Grandpa Muto a devious grin and mentally counted to himself. _One…two…three…_

"RAWR!" suddenly he jumped up and hung off Joey's shoulders.

"NYEHHHH!" Joey jumped in surprise and almost knocked Mokuba off. He reached around and flipped the youth over his shoulder. "What the…. Mokuba?"

"Hey Mokuba!" Yugi greeted, trying to suppress the laugh about to escape from the outburst.

Téa and Ryou giggled amongst themselves as Tristan spoke up. "What brings you here, kid?"

"Ha-ha, hey guys!" Mokuba grinned, and poked Joey in his side. "Hey…c'mon, put me down, Joey! This is an expensive suit, if I get it messed up, Seto will kill me!"

Upon hearing the elder brother's name, Joey quickly flipped Mokuba back onto his feet on solid ground, and looked around nervously. "Kaiba? Where?"

Mokuba laughed and smoothened out his outfit. "Relax, it's just me. I wanted to come and see you guys on the biggest day of your lives!"

"That's very nice of you, Mokuba." Ryou smiled.

"I'm surprised Kaiba even let you come over." Téa said.

"yeah…" Yugi smiled shyly, "I didn't think Kaiba would care about our graduation ceremony."

"Well…. he doesn't…." Mokuba replied, rubbing the back of his neck, and quickly added, "b-but I do! You guys are my friends. And just 'cuz Seto is being a party pooper-as-usual doesn't mean I should be, right?"

Tristan grinned. "Right."

Now it was Grandpa's turn to come forward. "Well, are you kids ready to celebrate your achievement?"

The teenagers looked at the elder man with grins on their faces. "Absolutely!" They said in unison with fists pumped in the air.

"Alright then!" Mokuba cheered, and gestured to the awaiting limo at the curb. "Everyone file in!"

Joey and Tristan's eyes grew at the thought of riding in one of Kaiba's limos. The gang followed Mokuba and Grandpa over to the vehicle. Roland stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the passenger doors for the group to file in. Once the door closed behind them and Roland got back behind the wheel, the limo roared to life and started pulling away from the school.

Yugi looked back at the building as it shrank back with the distance with a sad smile. Another door was closing. He closed his eyed and reflected. He was reminded of the first 'door closing' in his life: when he had to bid adieu to Atem's spirit after the ceremonial duel. That was his first major milestone, acknowledging he had the strength and confidence within himself to be on his own; and now, it would be time for him to build his life for himself, to be his own man. He sighed quietly. It was a lot for him to take in, and parts of him felt both nostalgic and afraid of what was to come. A rough bump in the road shook him from his thoughts as he tuned himself back into the conversation going on.

"…ohohoh, you kids are in for a real treat. "Solomon smiled. "Young Mokuba and I have been planning this little party for a while."

"Where are we going, exactly?" Téa asked.

Solomon smiled, "You'll just have to wait and see. It's someplace I know you kids would love to go."

Ryou blinked. "It seems today is just full of surprises."

Téa took notice that the limo was going towards a different area of the city, certainly not in the direction of the popular Burger World restaurant, which everyone knew was their favorite "hang out spot". Soon, after several more turns and heading towards the bustling downtown, the limo pulled up to a large, upscale restaurant, _The Teriyaki Grill._

"Woah! This place is ritzy!" Tristan exclaimed. He and Joey peered out their window. The glass started to fog up from their heavy breathing. And…was that drool coming out of Joey's mouth?

"A little birdie told me that you kids always wanted to try this place." Mr. Muto grinned. "Well, ta-daa!" He waved his arms.

Roland exited the limo and opened the rear door to the sidewalk. The passengers stepped out one by one.

"This is amazing!" Téa said, excited. "I remember my parents trying to come here for one of their anniversaries. This place is always booked solid!"

"Really?" Yugi replied, and then turned to his grandfather and the young Kaiba. "Just how long ago did you reserve our table?"

"Ohohoho…we didn't reserve a table, Yugi. It's a private dining room!" grandpa grinned.

"W-w-what? Grandpa, how did you manage that?" Yugi asked. His voice was a mixture of shock, surprise, and excitement.

Mokuba snickered. "Hey, he partnered up with me. I'm a Kaiba. Nothing is out of our reach"

"Well what are we jus' standing around here for? I'm starved!" Joey smirked and linked his arms with Tristan and Ryou.

Tristan beamed. "Let's get this party started!"

* * *

"I suddenly feel under-dressed" Grandpa chuckled as they sat in their private dining room. There were balloons tied to the table centerpieces and a banner hanging from the ceiling that read "congratulations graduates!". The waiters came and took their drink orders and left them alone to browse the menu.

"So, has anyone ever eaten here before?" Ryou asked curiously as he turned the laminated page of his menu. "There are so many choices."

Mokuba smiled. "Seto comes here all the time, between his business lunches or take-out to bring home. KaibaCorp HQ is only a few blocks from here. And I've been here a couple of times. This place is known for their meats."

"mmm…. steak…" Ryou practically growled with delight, then looked up from the pages to see all eyes on him. "…what?"

"eh…not for nuthin'…but you're not being controlled by your evil spirit anymore…right?" Joey asked. "Cuz…you sounded…. evil."

Ryou burst out laughing. "Heavens, no! I'm not evil, just hungry!"

The group chuckled as their wait staff brought their drinks and took their orders.

"I know you've been hearing this almost all day," Grandpa said with a smile, "but I can't be any prouder of you kids. Especially you, Yugi. You have overcome so much during your years in high school. And your graduation speech was not only well written, but inspiring as well."

Yugi smiled. "Thanks, Grandpa."

Joey and Tristan exchanged glances before bursting into tears. "Tissues…. we need tissues….." as they remembered Yugi's parting message to his fellow seniors. The idea of going their own ways in the future was a big deal for them, and while they were excited for their new freedom, they were also hesitant to take such big steps.

Ryou reached beside him to pat Tristan's back, "It'll be alright, guys. We will always have each other, no matter where we are."

Téa nodded in agreement. "Bakura's right. Our bonds of friendship will always keep us together.

Mokuba scooted forward in his chair and spoke up, "So, what are your plans now?" before he could continue, he was briefly interrupted by Roland, who had approached the table and knelt beside the young Kaiba.

"pardon the interruption, Mister Mokuba," he said quietly, "but it's time for me to meet Master Kaiba at Headquarters."

"Already? Mokuba looked at the time on his smartphone and blinked. "Wow, it's later than I thought. Go ahead, Roland."

Roland nodded and returned to his feet, nodding to the group before quickly leaving the dining room.

Yugi had watched the exchange. "Something wrong, Mokuba?"

"No-no, Roland just needs to get back to HQ. Don't worry, he'll be back. So anyway, what are your big plans? Inquiring minds wanna know!"

"Well," Téa began. "I was accepted into a dance program abroad. I leave for New York in two weeks." She smiled fondly. "It's always been my dream to become a professional dancer, ever since I was a little girl. This dance program is one of the best in America, and I was lucky enough to get a small scholarship to go."

Mokuba's eyes widened like saucer. "Woah. That's _awesome_! Congrats, Téa! You'll have to let us know what New York is like. I've never been there before! And your performances. I wanna see one!"

She giggled. "I'll be happy to send you pictures and updates."

"What about you, Bakura?"

Ryou took a sip of his soda. "Well, my father wants me to help out a bit at the Domino museum part time to earn some money. I hope to go to college to study archeology. My father used to be a treasure hunter, you see… so I suppose in a way he passed down to me a liking for different types of artifacts," he broke into a small smirk, "though I think I'll prefer to find ones that aren't inhabited by dark spirits!"

"A boy after my own heart!" Solomon beamed, "I may have some of my old Egyptology books around the house, if you would need help with your academics, Bakura. Archeology is a wonderful field of study!"

"You guys have it made so far." Tristan sighed and slumped his shoulders a bit. "I already know my dad plans on having me work in his auto factory. He's a bit short on labor force right now. I can't afford to really go to college and my folks aren't planning on financing it. They want me to come up with a plan for my future before they even let me consider taking any classes whatsoever."

"It'll be alright, Tristan." Yugi said, trying to be encouraging. "You can use your time at the factory to save up money and stay inspired. Who knows, maybe you can open your own business someday! Just follow your passions."

Tristan gave a small smile in return. "Thanks, Yug. You always know what to say. I guess I just have to stay positive."

"Yeah!" Joey grinned, whipping his arm around Tristan's shoulders. "And when you make it big in the business world, you'll give us all rides in your fancy limo and become Rich Boy's newest business rival!"

Mokuba hid a snicker behind his hand. "My brother is really competitive, as you already know. Not just in Duel Monsters, but in business, too. There's a reason why KaibaCorp is always on top. Our closest competition, Schroeder Corp is still way out of our league. But Seto only has one rival in his life. And that's Yugi."

"I'm honored to hold such a pedestal position." Yugi smiled. _Though I know…it's really the Pharaoh…_

"Speakin' of dueling rivals…" Joey began as the waiters returned to the table with their meals, " I plan on becoming a professional duelist. A champion, just like Yugi. There won't be anyone who will stop my way to the top!"

"Except my brother." Mokuba smirked. "No one has ever defeated him." He paused, and quickly added, "Well, besides Yugi."

"Hey, I almost beat him in Battle City…"

"Joey, he creamed you." Tristan laughed, popping some potatoes in his mouth.

"…shaddup."

"Relax, Joey." Grandpa smiled. "With every tournament, every duel, you grow stronger. Not only in your strategies, but in your confidence as a duelist! Just think about how you started, back in Duelist Kingdom. And throughout Battle City, you faced some stiff competition! Just think. Weevil Underwood, Espa Roba, Mako Tsunami and even Marik Ishtar, you stood up to them well, and even faced down an Egyptian God Card! Being the one who taught you everything about this game, I couldn't be prouder! You've progressed so far, just like my grandson. And you've never stopped believing in the heart of the cards! That will take you as far as you dream to go. Just remember never to look on a defeat as a step backwards, but as a learning experience!"

"Thanks, Gramps!"

Mokuba swallowed his bite and smiled. "Hey, I'll come to your matches and watch you duel!" His eyes became shifted. "But don't expect me to outwardly cheer like the rest of your friends. If my big brother finds out I'm rooting for you, I'll never hear the end of it." He gasped. "He might disown me!"

Mokuba noticed the stares directed at him. "…that was a joke?"

Ryou calmed down. "Hey, knowing Kaiba's hatred with Joey, you never know."

The group paused in their conversation to dig into their meals. Taking Mokuba's earlier suggestion, steak was the popular choice on the table tonight. Joey and Tristan, as expected, annihilated their plates well before everyone else, with the former eyeing up some of Yugi's discarded green vegetables. Yugi noticed, and scraped the pieces onto a side plate and pushed them across the table, to the blonde's delight. Tristan's jaw dropped, and turned to his other side, to Téa. She was eating much slower, and some of her glazed carrots were left.

She shot him the evil eye. "Don't even think about it."

"Here, Tristan. You can have my broccoli salad if you're still hungry." Mokuba said as he pushed a small bowl over to him. "Seto always makes me eat veggies. But, since he's not here…" he gave a wide grin.

Grandpa Muto gave a slight chuckle and shook his head, "Mokuba, your brother means well. Those vegetables are important to help you grow."

"Yeah." Joey grinned. "Bein' tall has its perks. You want to actually grow a few inches, don'tcha?"

Mokuba laughed and leaned back in his chair. "Maybe someday. But not today!" He pushed his finished plate aside and started eying up the dessert menu. "Another mini perk of Seto not here. Desserts…here I come!"

* * *

The black limousine moved up the drive to the front steps of the Kaiba mansion. This was the final stop for the evening. The sun had completely set and the moon was shining through the thin clouds of the night sky. As soon as Roland opened the passenger door, the young Kaiba bound up the stairs and inside the residence.

"SETO!"

"… In here, Mokuba." The muffled voice came from his brother's home office. Mokuba turned right and stopped at the double doors, partially ajar. He popped his head in. The wall-mount television was on and set to the evening news. Seto himself sat behind his desk. His laptop was surprisingly closed, and most of the wood surface was covered in diagrams and blueprint schematics. A pencil was in the CEO's hand, twirling idly in his right hand as he stared at the mess before him, deep in thought.

"Whatcha' workin' on, big bro?" Mokuba asked as he excitedly approached the desk. He took notice of some sort of pod-like device his brother was trying to draw out before Seto's hands moved the images out of view.

"Oh…nothing much. Nothing for you to worry over." He stacked up the papers and put them in a drawer. When he glanced up and saw his brother, his eyes narrowed. "How much chocolate did you eat?"

"Just a piece of cake, I swear! I even shared some with Téa, so I didn't even have the whole thing!"

"Téa? Oh…right. The geek squad. So…how was dinner?"

"Fun!" Mokuba smiled, plopping onto the sofa in front of the desk. "It was so nice being able to hang out with the gang when we weren't in some type of danger!" He laughed. "I had no idea Joey and Tristan could eat so much…"

"hmmph." Seto replied, rolling his eyes. "I am more surprised that mutt was even allowed to graduate in the first place." He shook his head and smirked. "But I suppose every dog has to pass obedience school eventually."

Mokuba sighed. "Seto…" he turned to briefly glance at the television before continuing. "You don't give him enough credit. Or any of them for that matter. This was a big deal for all of them. And soon they'll all be doing their own thing and going their separate ways."

"Those geeks breaking up?" He asked incredulously. "That'll be the day."

"it's true, Seto! Everyone seems really excited." _Well…except maybe Tristan…_ " And I'm really excited for them, just as I am for us, with our new Duel Disk, and…whatever your new designs are gonna be. I have a feeling it'll be another big hit. For once, all our futures look really bright!"


	2. Carnival Games and Growing Strains

**A/N: Hi guys! Welcome back! This chapter's going to be a long (and amusing) one. My goal here, and for the next couple of chapters, is to provide some backstory into what leads up to the pivotal moment where the main story line truly takes off. This chapter is just going to be considerably more light-hearted than some others.**

Chapter 1: Carnival Games and Growing Strains

 _Saturday, July 7_ _th_ _._

A soft chime on the bedside table woke Mokuba Kaiba from his sleep. He yawned, and rubbed his eyes as he slowly rolled over to look at his clock. 6:30am. The boy blinked, and stared at the time until the realization snapped him awake. This wasn't just any ordinary Saturday. If it were, his alarm certainly wouldn't' have been set to go off before the sun rose.

No, today was Mokuba's birthday. His twelfth birthday. He had been looking forward to this day for weeks. Not just for obvious reasons; after all, what child isn't excited to celebrate his birthday? No, today was one of three "special" days of the whole year. Days where Mokuba is [usually] able to keep his brother away from his work with relative ease. The other two days are Christmas day and Seto's birthday (though the latter was the hardest for the youth). Mokuba had noticed that his big brother had been growing a bit testy the last several weeks. It started roughly around the time he had met with Yugi's friends for dinner. Perhaps a day devoted solely to brotherly amusement would make him feel better.

With a surge of energy, Mokuba bound out of bed and rummaged through his clothes drawers for something comfortable to wear. The weather was forecasting a warmer, sunny day. A striped cotton t-shirt and khaki shorts became the winning outfit. He didn't even try taming the mess that was his hair.

Quietly, he opened his bedroom door and peered down the hallway in each direction. Everything seemed quiet. No other lights were on. By now it was a little after 7am, and the sun was coming up. With any luck, his brother would still be in bed. What a perfect opportunity…

A wide grin creeped on the birthday boy's face as he tiptoed down the hallway to a set of double doors at the end: Seto's room. Mokuba put his ear against the door and listened for a few moments. If his brother was up and moving about, he would hear it. There was only silence. Perfect, wonderful, silence. With his tongue peeking through the corner of his mouth, he slowly turned the knob and gently pushed the door open, just wide enough for him to slip through. The room was still dark. Long black curtains were drawn and kept the rising sunlight out. Mokuba could still make out a long mass in the bed. Holding in a snicker, the boy silently dropped to his knees and crawled across the carpet to the other side of the bed. If he had any chance of initiating a sneak-attack, he had to—

"…. I know you're there, kiddo…" came a muffled voice from beneath the covers.

Mokuba's jaw dropped and he climbed onto the bed. Seto was laying almost on his stomach; his head almost buried in the pillow his arms were draped around, and his body was turned away from his little brother. He didn't stir, didn't roll over. By all accounts, he was asleep. "aw, how'd you know I was here?"

"Call it a sixth sense."

"Aww, shucks!" Mokuba couldn't help but pout a little. He hadn't been able to successfully get 'the jump' on his older brother in years. He would have to try harder next time, with some new strategies.

The older brother barely peeked an eye open and took notice of the time when he felt the bed shift slightly with Mokuba's weight. "…why are you even up so early? Go back to bed."

"I can't! I'm too wide awake, and besides. I already dressed for the day. So, rise and shine, sleepy-head!" He leaned closer and started shaking his brother's shoulder to get a rise out of him. "Don't you know what today is?"

"…of course I do." Seto's drowsy-still-muffled voice replied. "Did you honestly think I would forget my own brother's birthday?"

"noooooo." Mokuba replied, and watched Seto. He grew quiet, and part of him wondered if he closed his eyes again and tried to go back to sleep. _Why is he so tired, anyway?_ Mokuba thought to himself. _He's gotten up much earlier almost all other days of the week to go to the office. Seto is used to this. Is there something else?_ "Uh, are you ok? Are you sick? When did you go to sleep, anyway?"

There was remaining silence for a few more moments. Then came three simple responses. "Yes. No. Three hours ago."

Mokuba made a face as he linked the answers to his questions. No wonder Seto was so tired. He practically pulled another all-nighter. Seto was known to do that on occasion, though the last few weeks it seemed he had decided to forgo sleep at least once each rotation. Mokuba knew that even for Seto Kaiba, that could become borderline excessive. Well, almost. Mokuba frowned for a moment. He would have to have a talk with Roland if this pattern continued. What could possibly be going on at Headquarters that would push Seto like this? The last time the older Kaiba was so driven by anything, it was during his Battle City tournament, between the organization and the actual event, when he was completely obsessed with reclaiming his Duel Monster title back from Yugi. Since then, he had mellowed out. Slightly. Was he regressing back to his old ways? Certainly not on the boy's birthday, that's for certain!

An idea struck Mokuba and he grinned inwardly. With a light sigh, Mokuba pat his brother's exposed shoulder and said quietly. "Okay, big bro. You win. You can go back to sleep. For another hour…maybe two. But don't forget, you promised to make me breakfast!" He couldn't help but smile when he heard a mumble of a response, and hopped off the bed. Mokuba didn't make as much of an effort to be as quiet as before as he skipped merrily across the room and closed the door behind him. While it was true, he had every intention of giving Seto his new hour…or two… of sleep, he knew the man would be up sooner. His slumber, if one could call it that, was already disturbed once, and Mokuba knew his brother too well. Once he was already roused, it was almost impossible to truly fall back into a peaceful snooze. Plus, Mokuba reminded him about breakfast. Breakfast Seto had to make himself. The boy rubbed his hands in devious fashion. He loved wrapping his brother around his finger in sneaky, subtle ways. _Pleasant dreams, Seto!_ Mokuba skipped downstairs to the rec room. He would find some cartoons to watch and pass the time.

* * *

Seto Kaiba mumbled some unintelligible response to Mokuba and felt the bed shift again. Mokuba had gotten off and left the room. Good. Peace at last. The CEO's eyes were already closed, and he had buried his face completely against the soft pillow. It was only a few moments before he had fallen back into a light snooze. But, something wasn't right. Mokuba left too easily. His eyes forced themselves open slowly as he tried to replay in his head what Mokuba had told him. Truthfully, he had only been half listening, since he was barely alert in the first place. Something about letting him sleep? Perfect. His eyes reclosed, and he attempted once again to rest.

Sleep didn't last much longer. He found himself laying there with his eyes merely closed rather than actually sleeping, so he gave up. He forced himself into an upright position and stretched his upper body. Seto knew he had been played, and shot a glare towards the closed bedroom door. _Let me sleep, he says. Like hell I am._ Seto sighed and shook his head. _Brat._ With a sweep of his arm, he threw the blankets to the side and rose to his feet. After a yawn, he trudged into the adjoining bathroom and started up a cold shower for himself.

Once he was all cleaned up, he dressed for the day. A light blue short-sleeve button down shirt tucked into black pants. He kept the top two buttons of his shirt undone with the large collar popped. With his trading card locket placed safely around his neck, he left his room and started downstairs.

He could hear the TV on from the rec room, and when he stopped in the doorway, he could see Mokuba lounging on the floor hugging one of the couch pillows, so engrossed in the cartoon that he was oblivious to Seto's presence.

The CEO's mouth twisted to a devious smirk. Time for some payback. He crept in and snuck up behind his brother, making sure to stay low. Last thing he wanted was his reflection showing on the big screen. He waited for just the right moment, then he sprung, snatching the boy in his arms and wrestling him down onto his lap, and giving him a noogie. Mokuba started flailing about with laughter as he tried to wiggle free.

Seto held him fast and continued his onslaught. "So, you like sneaking up on me, hmm? How do you like the tables being turned…?"

Mokuba tried to speak amidst his giggles. "Aw, c'mon, S-Seto! I give, I give! You c-can stop!"

Seto scoffed and stopped, though still held his brother fast. "That's funny. I don't recall ever saying I was finished…" He quickly got to his feet and flipped his brother back onto the couch, and tickled his sides.

"aaaaaaah!" Mokuba's giggle fits returned, and he tried to fight back against his brother's arms, but Seto was too fast, and too strong.

Seto's grin was almost frightening. "What do you say, Mokie?"

"I-I'm sor-rryyy!" He tried to utter. "t-t-that I woke y-you up! No more!" That seemed to satisfy the older brother, and he stopped his assault.

"Good. Now that that's cleared up…" he rose to his feet and tussled Mokuba's hair. "What do you want for breakfast?"

* * *

The stack of chocolate chip pancakes didn't last long. For as soon as the plate landed on the table in front of Mokuba, it was devoured just as fast. One of the best parts of his birthday was knowing Seto always treated him to a homemade breakfast, no matter what day of the week June 7th fell on. Normally, there was a chef hired for the mansion, but the man was only there during the work week, the same with the other few staff members. And while Seto didn't make it a point to cook often, he had a decent amount of culinary knowledge; enough that Mokuba tended to enjoy most of what Seto decided to make. They were never fancy meals like their chef prepared, but the simplicity of his brother's dishes warmed his heart, and his stomach.

By the time Seto turned to sit down at the table, he narrowed his eyes. The pancake plate was empty again. "I see you don't want me to eat this morning."

Mokuba laughed and wiped some chocolate off his face. "Hey, fighting you off this morning made me hungry! Can I have some more?"

Seto shook his head and turned back to the stovetop to make another batch. "And you thought that mutt Wheeler inhaled food…. Just save some of these for me, okay?"

"Sure thing, bro!" Mokuba grinned. "five for me, one for you! By the way, can I have some more milk?"

"Going to drink all of that too while you're at it?" Seto joked, and moved to the refrigerator. He pulled out the jug and refilled his brother's glass.

"So, what's my big surprise for the day, Seto?" Mokuba asked. "You always plan something on my birthday. What's my present?"

"Oh, didn't you know?" Seto said calmly, as he moved the done pancakes to the plate and placed them on the table. "That noogie was your present."

"What? Nu-uh, that's lame!"

"Who is to say I got you a present at all?" Seto asked as he put half of the stack onto his own plate.

"Oh please, Seto." Mokuba smirked as he took the rest and poured some syrup over them. "If you didn't, that means you were being cheap. And Seto Kaiba and cheap do not mix." He started inhaling the rest of his breakfast with glee.

"Hmmph." Seto replied and took a few bites. "I am many things. 'Cheap' is not one of them."

"yesss!" Mokuba pumped a fist into the air. "So, when do I get my present?"

"Maybe later, once we return home."

Mokuba's eyes widened. "Where are we going?"

* * *

When the car pulled up to their destination, Mokuba's excitement sky-rocketed. "Kaiba Land!" He turned to Seto sitting in the driver's seat. "Really Seto? You're the best!"

Seto smirked as he turned off the car and grabbed his sunglasses from the glove compartment. "Well, the arcade scene was getting pretty old."

"yeah, I already mastered most of those games already." Mokuba stepped out of the car and waited for his brother. "I can't wait to ride EVERYTHING! This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Try to contain your excitement until we at least get inside." Seto smirked, and walked with Mokuba to the ticket booth. He flashed his corporate ID to the young clerk inside the booth and the man slid two voucher packets across the window. It was company policy that any Kaiba Corp employees visiting the theme park got free day admission to the park, which also included one free voucher full of game-tickets. The clerk also passed two plastic bracelets across to Seto, which he took and handed one to Mokuba.

"Couldn't we just go in through the VIP entrance, Seto?" Mokuba asked as he tried to fasten the soft plastic bracelet to his wrist. "I mean, you own the park. Do I really hafta wear something that'll let me back in later if we leave?"

"For once, I just want us to blend in with the crowd." He replied, and knelt to help Mokuba adjust the bracelet. "No spotlight, no grandstanding. Today, it's just me and you, kid; and let us celebrate your birthday the way any two brothers would. Games, rides, and carnival food."

"Woah…that really doesn't sound like you, Seto….and I love it!" Mokuba grinned, and reached for one of the ticket vouchers, but Seto stuck them in his shirt pocket. _It almost sounds like the old Seto…before Gozaburo… when he smiled, and knew how to have fun…._

"So, you ready?"

Mokuba smirked. "Are YOU ready to ride the tilt-n-whirl?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "Ha. Like hell if you think I'm going on any of these attractions."

 _Well…I guess he's still a party-pooper._ Mokuba took his brother's hand and they walked through the turnstile gate.

The park itself had just opened less than an hour before they got there, therefore lines, if there were any, were extremely light. For the sake of blending in, and taking in the entire guest experience, Mokuba grabbed a park map and examined it closely. The notion itself was a moot point, since both brothers had the layout of the park memorized; but at least the paper gave Mokuba a visual idea of where he would want to go first. Sure, he and Seto had been to Kaiba Land several times in the past, but each time they were there for official business: construction, promotional events and parties, even the Grand Championship tournament at the California park location. He never got to truly get the theme park experience like a regular guest. That is, until now.

"Seto! Let's start in toon world and work our way towards the Castle of Dark Illusions!"

"…remind me again why we put _Toon World_ in?"

"Because we thought it would be a good kiddie section?" Mokuba laughed. "And besides, whenever Pegasus comes to see the place, we can ditch him there and he'd never leave." Mokuba had snatched his arm and started pulling him towards the cartoon-themed area of the park.

Seto wanted nothing more than to bolt in the opposite direction when they reached the border of 'Toon World', marked by a sign with an image of the famous 'Toon World' artwork from the trading card. This was one area of the park he had always sworn he would never set foot. The last thing he ever wanted was to be surrounded by the most annoying pests in the entire game of Duel Monsters.

Swallowing his pride, and the remaining contents of his stomach, he followed his little brother as the youth went from attraction to attraction. Seto had given Mokuba his own ticket voucher and the boy had run off ahead a few times to see what piqued his interest. Luckily for the older Kaiba brother, much of Toon World was targeted to the young child-fans of Duel Monsters (and of course, its creator, Pegasus), and before too long, Mokuba was ready to move on to the next section. Seto slid his hands into his pants pockets and walked casually behind his brother. He was starting to browse the carnival games now.

"Step right up," said the older man behind one of the counters, "give these here rings a toss for some great prizes! The higher star the monster you land, the bigger the prize!"

"Oh! Seto, this looks like fun!" Mokuba skipped over to the booth and ripped off three tickets, handing them to the gentleman. The attendant gave Mokuba three rings and stepped off to the side.

Mokuba surveyed the tables before him. Monsters ranging all the way from Kuriboh to Blue Eyes White Dragon were present and scattered around. Mokuba set his eyes on a Flamed Swordsman figurine not too far away. He tossed his first ring. A complete miss. Frowning, he looked around and decided on another monster. Dark Magician Girl was a little further to the right, and his first ring landed close to her. He tried again, and landed the prize. "YESS!" Mokuba's fist pumped in the air, and he turned to Seto with a wide grin. His brother gave him a high five.

"Great job, Mister Mokuba!" The attendant smiled, of course recognizing his bosses. "For landing a six-star monster, you can choose from these prizes." He brought over a large box and opened it. Various clothing items were inside, from hats to T-shirts. Mokuba sorted through them, and found a plush-style hat shaped like the head of the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon.

"Oh, I want that hat!" He announced, then quickly added, "please." The attendant picked it up and placed it on Mokuba's head. The boy squealed and turned to look up at Seto. "How do I look, big brother?"

Seto tried very hard to hold back his snickers. _Ridiculous, that's what…_ "it suits you, kiddo." He smirked, keeping his composure.

"Do you wanna have a go, Seto? You're good at these kinds of games."

Seto shook his head and wrapped an arm around Mokuba's shoulder, leading him back down the path. "Nah., I think I'm beyond these trivial activities."

"Seto, you ARE going to have some fun here, right?" Mokuba asked.

Kaiba smirked in response. "Oh, I'm sure something around here will get me excited." He glanced at the Rolex on his left wrist. "hey, it's almost noon. What do you say we take a lunch break?"

"Yeah, ok!" Mokuba nodded. He pulled the map out of his back pocket and looked for the food establishments. "Oh, there's a hot pretzel stand not far ahead from here! Let's have snacks!" he led his brother down the path and just ahead on the right was a food cart that served pretzels, hot dogs, funnel cake and more. There was a fairly long line to the window, so the brothers got in place, waiting their turn.

* * *

"Hey Yug'! Let's pause and grab a bite. I could really go for a pretzel right now." Joey ginned and pointed to the food vendor just up the path."

"What?" Yugi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Joey, you just packed away two corn dogs. How can you still be hungry?"

"Hey man, all this walking is burning it off. Besides, don't ya know that junk food is half the fun of going to an amusement park?"

Yugi blinked, "I always thought it was the rides and games." He replied, dryly. No matter how much he tried, he always underestimated the true capacity of Joey Wheeler's iron stomach. The pair got in line behind a tall brunette man and a young raven-haired child wearing a goofy monster hat, and resumed their conversation. "But seriously, Joey. The more you eat, the longer you have to wait before being able to go back on rides. Not to mention more times running to the bathroom."

"No sweat, pal-o-mine." Joey grinned. "I can handle anything!" he waved his arm and accidently knocked into the boy in front of him. "Oh crap, whoops. Sorry, kid. You ok?"

The boy turned around and blinked a few times as it registered who he was looking at. "Joey? Yugi?"

"Mokuba?!" Joey exclaimed, and his eyes nervously traveled to the right, to Mokuba's companion, who could be no other than….

"Oh hi, Kaiba!" Yugi greeted with a smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

 _Oh great…. Dork fest continues. I swear, no place is safe anymore._ He took off his sunglasses and glanced down at the young man. "Yugi." And he stole a glance at his friend. "Mutt."

"Hey now…. I have a name, you know." Joey sighed.

Mokuba ignored the animosity between the two taller men. "This is so cool! You guys are spending the day here at Kaiba Land too? You should hang out with us!" He ignored the look of disgust forming on Seto's face.

"That sounds like fun," Yugi said, and looked up at Seto. "Well, if you don't mind, that is."

"Hmmph. Whatever Mokuba wants." He responded, sliding his sunglasses back on when the sun reflected off someone's name badge into his face. He turned around to face forward as the line moved slightly.

"Eh?" Joey looked a little confused, and glanced at Mokuba, whispering, "he really that much of a pushover today?"

Seto heard the comment and rolled his eyes. He kept his lips pressed together to avoid saying something he would regret. These were Mokuba's friends….as much as he hated to admit it. And he wouldn't deny Mokuba time to spend with them today, if that's what the boy wanted. For his little brother, he would suck it up and endure these two. Yugi of course, he could manage to tolerate. Wheeler, on the other hand...

Mokuba smiled. "Today is my birthday, so it's all about me." He laughed.

"Oh! Well Happy Birthday, Mokuba!" Yugi smiled.

"Thanks!" Mokuba smiled. "Where are you guys headed after this food stop?"

"Da bumper cars!" Joey grinned. "One of my favorite rides. I jus' love any excuse to drive like a maniac!"

That one comment caught Seto's attention just before he made it to the vendor window. "I didn't know you needed an excuse to be one, Wheeler. How is this different than any other time of day?"

"Hey! Why don't you join me in that rink and we'll just see who's superior, huh?"

"Oh please." Seto rolled his eyes. "As if you would catch me climbing into one of those cartoonish vehicles. No. I don't do rides." He pulled his wallet from his pants pocket and addressed the young girl behind the ordering window.

Mokuba shrugged to his new companions. "Don't worry, guys. Seto promised he'd have some fun while he's here. We just have to wait for the right moment."

* * *

Seto Kaiba stood by the railing surrounding the bumper car track as he watched Mokuba navigate his vehicle. The design of the car was in the form of a blue kuriboh. In fact, all the cars represented the general theme of one of Yugi's favorite cards: 'The Five (or in this case, eight) Kuriboh Brothers. Yugi was in the brown car, representing the original Kuriboh monster, and Joey rode in a grey car himself. He smirked as Mokuba's car came zooming in fast and crashed into Joey's, sending the young man flying backwards. _Good job, Mokuba._

Suddenly, he sensed a presence standing behind him. He turned slowly, wondering at first if it was just another parent watching their child on the ride. To his surprise, it wasn't a guest in the park.

"Roland…" He said, crossing his arms over his chest and spoke further with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "What is it?"

"Sir, I've just come from Headquarters. Forgive me for barging in on your time off with Mister Mokuba. We tried calling you, but you never answered your cell…"

"That's because I turned it off. For that very reason, in fact. No doubt you and half of the building have left me at least fifty messages wanting something. So. What is it this time?"

"Your R&D team assigned to your…." He searched for the right words, "…. newest project. They've run computer simulations based on the blueprints you've brought them. The results have come in. All failures. They say it's impossible— "

" _Nothing_ is impossible, Roland. They just aren't thinking outside the box. I am not doing all of this work for them." He lowered his voice and looked back straight ahead to the players on the attraction, seeking out the ridiculous hat sitting on Mokuba's head. "There's nothing wrong with my design, Roland. It can work, it will work. Those idiots in that lab just need to push harder and tackle the design from another angle."

"Mister Kaiba, sir." Roland said. "How can you be sure? I've seen your blueprints, your design for that pod. They're the most complicated I've ever seen. What you propose is unprecedented... a machine to travel...through time? Or realms? What makes you so confident such a device can be brought to life?"

Seto's gaze shifted and locked onto Yugi as he whirled about the track. His voice deepened with severity. "Because my drive to succeed is stronger than those scientist's. I told myself I would see _him_ again, that I'd _duel him_ again, and regain my title, my glory. You saw what happened at my exhibition. I was so close…and it slipped away. Let me tell you something, Roland. I will not lose another opportunity. I will stop at nothing to make this work." There was of course, more too it than that, but Seto didn't feel like explaining himself. It was hard enough for him to banish this project from his mind for this one day, to try and focus on Mokuba and Mokuba's desires alone. With Roland's report all of his efforts were in vain, and the disgust was starting to show on his features.

Roland held back a sigh. "what should I tell them back at Headquarters?"

There was silence for a moment, and then a sigh. "tell them…to set the project aside until Monday. I refuse to go into the office today to indulge in their failures. Have them shift their focus back to the new duel disk systems. We still have to prepare for the commercial launch."

Roland bowed. "Yes sir, right away." With that, he turned and walked back towards the park entrance.

Seto growled to himself and gripped his arms tighter. So much for progress. One step forward, two steps back. This was unacceptable. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. The ride was ending, and he didn't want Mokuba to sense his tension. When the crowd of patrons passed through, he caught sight of Mokuba skipping along with a smug grin on his face. Joey, on the other hand, was leaning on Yugi for support, looking slightly green.

Seto smirked and raised a brow as the trio made it over to him. "What happened? Did the mutt get dizzy chasing his tail?"

Joey let out a growl.

Mokuba laughed. "Nah…but Yugi and I did team up and knock him around. It was awesome!"

Joey managed to straighten himself up. "Yeah, keep laughing, little punk. I'll get you for this. You know what they say, heh? Payback's a bit-…" he was interrupted by the sound of Seto clearing his throat. Even with the sunglasses on, Joey could tell he was glaring. "…butt."

Mokuba gave a smirk of his own. "Sure, Joey. Sure…"

* * *

Something was different. Wrong perhaps? Mokuba noticed it right away, ever since he and his friends got off the bumper-kuriboh-track. It wasn't the environment, nor the crowds, the weather, not even the strange-tasting fried ice cream Joey insisted he try. No. Something was odd, with Seto. He could have sworn during one of his passes on the track that his big brother was talking with someone. Was it Roland? What was Roland doing here? And what could he have possibly told Seto to make him upset? Mokuba frowned just thinking of it. For the last two hours, Seto seemed on edge, almost snappy. It couldn't be a coincidence. Of course, the unexpected-hanging-out with Yugi and Joey for so long could also be a contributing factor. It would be too good to be true for Seto's mood to remain, daresay, 'happy' all day. And here, Mokuba was hoping Seto would find some fun here in the park.

The crowds were starting to thin with the late afternoon hour. Mokuba looked down at the voucher in his hand. He only had a small handful of tickets left, and this was Seto's voucher. Mokuba's own was used up hours ago.

The boy was jostled from his thoughts when Joey threw his arm around the boy's shoulders. "Yo. Mok's. How about one final ride before we waste the rest o' our tickets on games, huh?'

Mokuba smiled and adjusted his Blue Eyes hat. "Sure! You name it, we ride it!"

"Joey grinned deviously, and pointed to the Blue-Eyes roller coaster just ahead of them, and Mokuba's face went slightly pale.

"Does it have to be this one? Couldn't we…. heheh…go back to the Castle of Dark illusions?"

"Nope. Besides, what's the worst that can happen, huh?"

 _I barf?_ Mokuba thought to himself, and walked with Joey to the ride entrance, handing over the necessary tickets. He then turned to the two slackers coming up the rear. "Yugi! You coming?"

The shorter friend held up his hands and waved in defeat. "No thanks. I don't care for rollercoasters."

Seto held onto Mokuba's hat for safe keeping while he and Joey boarded the ride. In the meantime, he and Yugi moved over to a nearby bench to wait. Yugi slouched down on the seat and pulled out his camera, reviewing some of the photos he took during the day. Seto leaned against the side of the bench and watched over his rival's shoulder.

"I didn't realize you took so many photos."

Yugi looked up at Seto and gave a small smile. "Yeah, Téa wanted me to email her the highlights of our day, plus, I wanted something to show Tristan next time we meet up. He would have come, but he had to work." He paused, and hesitated before continuing. "you know…. well…I hope you don't mind me saying…you've been pretty 'chill' about me and Joey today."

Seto huffed and crossed his arms lightly. "Believe me, Yugi, I'm only doing this for Mokuba. For reasons I still can't explain, my brother has decided to call you geeks his friends…out of all the possible people in this city to get close to."

Yugi sighed, and spoke quietly. "I know you don't believe in having an inner circle…well…of people you don't give paychecks to, anyway. But…I hope maybe one day, you'll see us as more than just geeks…or dorks…"

"If this is the start of one of those 'friendship speeches', save it."

Yugi laughed. "No…I would never impose the 'f' word onto you. I know you could beat me to a pulp if you really wanted to, and I would like to live to see tomorrow."

"Wise man." Seto rolled his eyes. "Look. Yugi. Believe it or not, I do have some shreds of respect for you. You're a decent duelist, and a fairly sane individual. You're far less annoying alone than when surrounded by your band of cheerleaders. I highly doubt we would ever be comrades. But, you are tolerable. Now, your lapdog on the other hand..."

"Say no more, Kaiba." Yugi forced a smile. "I'll take your words as a compliment, and I think your next wave of digs at Joey's character can remain unsaid. Over the years, I think I've probably heard them all, anyway."

Seto smirked ever so slightly and turned towards the ride. Mokuba was clutching his stomach as he walked over to his brother. Joey had a mad grin on his face that read 'triumph!'.

"You ok, kid?" Seto asked, tussling his brother's hair before setting the cartoon hat back on Mokuba's head.

"I don't think I like roller coasters anymore…"

Joey snickered. "eh, don't worry Mok's. You'll feel better in no time." He pulled out his crumpled voucher and sighed. "Well you guys... How abouts one last hurrah before we part ways?"

Yugi nodded and stood from the bench. "That sounds great. Today has been so much fun."

Mokuba looked up at his big brother and shook his arm. "Seto? Have you been having a good time?"

Seto was eyeing Joey carefully, when he responded, "that has yet to be seen."

Yugi continued, "Mokuba, since it's your birthday, why don't you pick the last activity."

'Okay!" He pulled out the park map and examined it closely, trying to see what they might have missed. "Ohhh! Guys! Just before the split-off for the KaibaDome is a dunk tank!"

"Oooh yeah! I'd bet every ticket to see Richboy get soaked!" Joey pumped his fist in the air as the group walked down the path.

"And what makes you think you can get me in that tank?"

"Joey, don't antagonize him." Yugi said. He was hoping to avoid playing referee to their shouting matches. The day had gone well so far, and he hoped to keep it that way. "Now, Mokuba. I say you choose who gets in the tank."

"I choose…. Joey!"

"What?!" Joey cried.

"Consider this your birthday present to me." Mokuba giggled. When they reached the booth, the attendant gave Joey a change of clothes and ushered him into the changing tent. Meanwhile, Mokuba and Yugi each put down their remainder of tickets to get a shot of dunking their friend. Once Joey was in position on the chair, he looked out to see who was going first.

"Wha'…Yug'?!"

"Sorry Joey. I couldn't resist. But I've only got one ticket, so one chance." Yugi stepped up behind the line and carefully aimed his ball. He threw it, and it bounced off the back board, missing the small bullseye."

Seto smirked. "I suppose the title 'King of Games' doesn't really span to carnival booths, huh Yugi…"

"My turn!" Mokuba cheered and stepped up. He wagered his last three tickets. Taking the first ball, he made his first toss. Too low, the ball didn't quite make it far enough. With a slight huff, he took his second and tried again. This toss was too much of a curve, and went more behind the booth's counter.

"Hehehehehehe…" Joey laughed. "I guess I'm safe! You've only got one shot left!"

Mokuba let out a slight whine as he grasped the last tennis ball and concentrated for a long time. With one final toss, the ball hit the back board just to the right of the circle. It grazed the bullseye, and the chair shifted slightly, but it wasn't enough force to activate the drop mechanism.

"Looks like I win!" Joey pumped a fist in the air and looked to the attendant. "How's about lettin' me out, pal?"

"Not. So. Fast." Seto slammed his palm down on the counter, and when he removed it, a lone ticket was left behind. "my turn."

"Nyeh?!" Joey paled at the sight of the single ticket. "Hey. Where'd that come from?"

"Seto, I thought we ran out of tickets!" Mokuba said, though a smile was creeping on his face. "Were you holding out on me?"

"I was, as you said, 'waiting for the right moment'. Well, nothing will please me more than getting the chance to humiliate this third-rate-duelist." He snatched up his one tennis ball and grinned wickedly to Joey. "Prepare yourself, Wheeler!"

"Like you'll really hit me with just one ball."

"Hmmph. One shot is all I need." He recoiled his arm.

"H-hey, Kaiba, wai— "Too late. The ball moved fast. There was the sound of a bell. "AIIEEEE-"

 _Splash!_

* * *

"You guys, today has been the best day ever!" Mokuba beamed. In his arms was a large brown Kuriboh plush doll, won by Seto for successfully dunking Joey.

"It really was. "Yugi smiled, and gave Mokuba a small hug. "I'm glad we could hang out with you this afternoon. Joey and I had a great time, right pal?"

Joey mumbled under his breath as he ran a towel through his hair, still trying to dry off from the water tank.

Yugi ignored Joey's mumbling and turned back to Mokuba. "Joey and I will let you enjoy the rest of your birthday with your brother. I think we monopolized enough of your afternoon."

"Okay." Mokuba smiled. Bye guys! See you soon, okay?"

Joey gave a thumbs up. "You betcha. Happy birthday, ya punk!"

Seto gave a meager nod in farewell and led Mokuba out of the park towards his car. Once they were both buckled in, Seto revved up the engine and pulled away, driving them back home.

"Thanks for such a great day, Seto. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. You were right…. a day to blend in with everyone really did us good!"

"I know it's a strange concept, "the older brother replied, "but I do have good ideas here and there."

Mokuba snickered and hugged his prize. "What about you, Seto? Did you have fun? Honestly?"

Seto was quiet for a moment, but let out a grin as he thought back to Joey's falling into the water. "I did…I really did."

The smile grew on Mokuba's face as he judged Seto's expression. He was worried prolonged exposure to Joey and Yugi would tank Seto's mood. The grin on Seto's face and the sound of his laughter at the sight of Joey falling into the water told him otherwise.

There was still some of his birthday left to celebrate. Mokuba knew there would be dinner, and of course cake. And Seto had promised him a birthday present. But in that moment, none of that mattered. Seeing his brother so relaxed and content...that was a side of Seto that he thought he would never see again; and Mokuba knew that was the best birthday present he could ever ask for. At that moment, Mokuba already decided what he would wish for when it was time to blow out the candles: that this Seto would be here to stay.


	3. The Mysterious Project

**A/N: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or the video game mentioned later in the chapter. Virtual cookie for anyone who's able to identify it!**

Chapter 2: The Mysterious Project

Time was moving incredibly slow for Mokuba that Friday afternoon. He sat in Seto's chair with his head resting in the palm of his hand, as he fiddled on his brother's computer. There was a major Research and Develop meeting going on in the main laboratory downstairs. It had started hours earlier, and Mokuba was growing bored waiting for Seto to return from it. There were no games on Seto's corporate computer, and Mokuba was growing tired of trying to download some online games to play.

"ARG. If I knew this stupid meeting was supposed to take this long I would have brought my games!" He whined and faceplanted his head to the wood desk surface. The games in question were his birthday presents, given by his brother: a handheld game console with the new _Capsule Monsters_ cartridge, and a mid-sized tablet computer that he could use for both personal and official KC use, though the bulk of the current content consisted of movies.

With a frustrated sigh, Mokuba jolted away from the desk and started spinning around in the chair. "Seto. Come on!" When he glanced back to the computer screen, the image had gone black. It went into sleep mode. Mokuba quickly jolted the mouse, and then saw a password prompt return. "Aw man!" He tapped his fingers on the desk surface and decided to play a new game: snoop through Seto's desk drawers. Maybe if he was lucky he could find some spare change and get a snack at the café across the street. He had to be careful, as he noticed every drawer he opened was organized methodically, and his brother would easily notice if something was moved. He found nothing of interest, and so he decided to give up waiting and stepped outside of the office. The hall was quiet and empty. He closed the door behind him and walked down to where Seto's private secretary's station was. She was gone, too. There was, however, a large box of donuts on the back desk. Mokuba reached over and grabbed a chocolate one before returning to wait in the office.

Eventually, he had fallen asleep back in the office chair because he was startled awake by the doors flying open. Seto strolled in at a brisk pace, with a determined look across his features. He hadn't even bothered to remove the long white lab coat from the meeting. His secretary strolled in a few steps after her employer with a small tablet in her hand.

Mokuba let out a huge sigh of relief and didn't hide the tone of voice. "Thank god you're back. I thought I was going to die of boredom up here!" He jumped out of the chair to greet his brother.

Seto didn't move to his brother right away, instead nodded his head in acknowledgement and walked to the closet to shed the lab coat. "Sorry, kid. We'll be heading out in a minute." He turned to his secretary. "Make all of the necessary arrangements. I plan to take off late tonight."

She bowed her head and typed furiously on her tablet. "Yes, Mr. Kaiba." She hurried out of the office.

Mokuba raised a brow. "Uh, what's going on? Do we have another corporate event this weekend?" He watched as Seto opened his briefcase and started grabbing folders from his cabinet, placing them inside.

"No. I have to go up to the station for a few days."

"Wait, what? You're leaving for the weekend?" Mokuba's eyes grew wide, and he followed Seto grab everything he needed and stroll out of the office. Mokuba jogged after to keep up.

"That is what I said."

"But…" Mokuba hated where this was going. What could be so important about the Station? And why was the first Mokuba was hearing about this 'impromptu' trip. Was…Seto deliberately leaving Mokuba in the dark on this? Whatever this project was, was it that important to Seto to leave Mokuba on the only two days a week they had to themselves?

"Couldn't this visit happen during the work week?" Mokuba frowned, "I thought this was our movie-marathon weekend! We made plans!" He tried, wondering if he could trick Seto into staying.

"That's _next_ weekend, kiddo." Seto replied, pushing the button for the elevator. It opened, and the brothers stepped inside. "I haven't forgotten it."

They rode the elevator down in silence. The lobby was fairly quiet when they crossed through it. It was getting late, and many of the employees were heading home. The familiar black limo was waiting for them as they walked down the steps. The driver held open the back seat for the Kaibas.

When Seto finally spoke again, his tone had softened a little compared to how he sounded upstairs at HQ. "You're going to have to pack for the weekend, Mokuba. I'm leaving tonight, and won't be returning until Monday evening."

 _Wait…_ I?Mokuba was puzzled. "Aren't I coming with you, Seto?"

"No." He shook his head. "There isn't anything up there that you would find interest in. If you thought waiting in my office all afternoon was torture." He almost added, _And I can't afford any distractions_... but that would certainly come across the wrong way and hurt his brother's feelings. "This is your summer break, kiddo. Wouldn't you rather be with your friends than be shut up in space for three days?"

"Well…. yeah…but I never get to go see the Station! That's exciting for me, too. And I can always bring my games. I wouldn't be bored, Seto. Please let me come?" He gave a pleading look to his brother as the limo passed through the Kaiba manor gate. "Besides, YOU don't like my friends."

"Hmmph. You don't have to remind me of that." Seto sighed as he stepped out of the limo and waited at the steps for Mokuba. "But, the plans have already been made. Perhaps next time, Mokuba, I'll let you tag along."

Mokuba's face fell as he accepted defeat. Or, more appropriately, being abandoned for the weekend. "So, I have to pack? You're not having security babysit me?" They entered the home and Mokuba kicked off his shoes before starting upstairs to his room. Seto set his briefcase by the door and followed his kid brother up.

"The only one you're ever comfortable with is Roland, and he's on vacation."

Mokuba muttered under his breath as he grabbed his duffel bag and began sorting through some clothes. "maybe _you_ should be on one…"

Not exactly quiet enough. Seto narrowed his eyes slightly in the doorway, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"N-n-nothing." Mokuba resigned, and continued to pack in silence.

* * *

The following ride was tense. The Kaiba brothers sat beside each other in silence. Mokuba's hands fidgeted mindlessly with the hem of his T-shirt while glancing out his window. Eventually his gaze shifted down to his lap. Seto merely sat with his arms folded across his chest, staring straight ahead.

When the car finally came to a stop, Mokuba looked up and was surprised to see the familiar sight of the Kame Game shop outside. A puzzled look crossed his face for a moment before he composed himself and looked to his brother.

"…Yugi?"

"Yugi."

"But…you don't like him. And you're really letting me stay here the whole weekend?"

"Your circle of friends is pretty small, Mokuba." Seto sighed as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the vehicle. When Mokuba followed, he continued. "since you never mention any school friends your age, I was left with little options." He looked up at the game shop. He remembered the first time he set foot in this establishment. It was when he discovered Yugi's grandfather possessed the fourth and final rare, prized, Blue Eyes White Dragon trading card. That visit was what started everything. It spurred the forced ante-duel with the old man, and Yugi's sudden challenge…Seto's own defeat and the loss of his champion title. That one duel changed everything, and turned his life upside down. And even after these three years, everything he seems to do leads back here, to Yugi, in some form; like a never-ending cycle. Of course, if his plan works and his new prototype-to-be is a success…

Mokuba spoke and drove his brother from his thoughts. "Well, I guess I'll be going in." Mokuba sighed, "Good luck this weekend, bro." He grabbed his bag from the car and reluctantly walked towards the door to the shop. He kept his head down towards the ground, making a point to Seto that he was unhappy with the situation.

It worked.

Seto stepped forward and spoke softly. "Mokuba, wait." The boy stopped and half turned to face his older brother. Seto moved closer and knelt before him. "I know you're not exactly pleased. I know you don't like it when I go off unexpectedly like this." His voice lost the harsh undertones it usually carried. "Please, understand this is something I must do. It's an important project, and this might be the one chance to get it kicked off a draft board and into a reality." He paused, and set a hand under Mokuba's chin, lifting his face up so their eyes can meet. "Please don't think this project is more important than you. When I return, I'll tell you all about it, and I'll make up for the lost weekend. I promise, trips like this one won't be too frequent. And the next time I must go up, you can come along."

Mokuba tried to force a smile. "Do you really promise?"

Seto nodded.

Mokuba held out his hand with his pinky extended. "You gotta swear on it or it isn't official, bro."

Seto let out a sigh and indulged his brother. He knew Mokuba well. The last time he made a promise without indulging in the childish seal, the plans fell through and Mokuba called foul for two weeks. For his own sanity, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Mokuba gave Seto's pinky an extra squeeze for good measure and smiled. "Okay, Big Brother. I trust you. You should probably get going though, before your helicopter decides to take off without you." Mokuba gave a teasing smile and hugged his brother goodbye. Once he let go, he turned back around and opened the door to the shop. He gave Seto one final wave goodbye and walked inside. The little bell above the door chimed as the door swung closed again.

* * *

Mokuba watched through the shop window as Seto got back into the vehicle and was off. With a small sigh, Mokuba tore himself away from the window and walked further into the shop. He had always loved game stores; however, this was the one shop in Domino that Seto refused to take him to. He decided to take a moment to browse. It was refreshing to see different merchandise. The Kame game shop contained the charms of some older-styled games. Board games, tabletop, and of course, Duel Monsters.

Neither Yugi nor his grandfather were at the counter when he walked in, but he heard a "Be right there!" as he looked around. He saw a display case to his right and knelt on the floor to get a good look inside. First edition Duel Monsters monster figurines lined the top shelf: Dark Magician, Exodia, Gate Guardian, Battle Ox, and Robotic Knight. The lower shelves included more action-figure style toys from the popular game: Flame Swordsman, Buster Blader, Blade Knight, and the Trio King's-Queen's-Jack's Knights, and Celtic Guardian. The bottom was empty. The merchandise was not completely set.

Mokuba stood and went to the main counter to wait. A few moments later, Grandpa Muto appeared in the doorway with a display box in his hand.

"Ah, Mokuba. Welcome!" The old man greeted with a smile. He set the box on the counter. "What can I do for you?"

Mokuba blinked. _Doesn't he know why I'm here?_ "Um, I'm here for the weekend?"

"You are?" Grandpa asked, surprised, and confused.

Mokuba nodded. "Seto said he called before to arrange it…" This was starting to feel awkward.

Grandpa Muto scratched his head. "Strange, I don't recall. Oh, he must have talked to Yugi." He turned to the open door and yelled to upstairs. "YUGI!"

"…coming, Gramps!"

Mokuba shifted his feet. What if it wasn't alright for him to stay?

Yugi bound through the doorway. "Hey Mokuba! Glad you could make it!"

"Yugi…." Grandpa said, turning to his grandson with his hands on his hips. "Did you know young Mokuba was coming?"

"Yeah! Kaiba called earlier this afternoon—ooooh." The King of Games' face turned sheepish and he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Grandpa. You were upstairs when he called the shop. I said it was alright for him to stay. I meant to tell you, but I got sidetracked."

Grandpa sighed. "Yugi, you do know I was supposed to meet Arthur Hawkins tonight…"

"um…" Mokuba was concerned, and it was showing through his face and voice. "I can call Seto and…"

Yugi shook his head. "No, it's ok. You can stay with me." Yugi turned to his grandfather. "I'm eighteen, Gramps. I can manage one night on my own." He added softly. "I'm not a child, anymore."

Grandpa gave a soft sigh and relented. "You're right. I keep forgetting how grown up you are." He turned to Mokuba with an apologetic smile. "Please accept my apologies. I didn't mean to worry you." He lifted the pass-through on the counter. "Go on up and make yourself at home."

Mokuba nodded and passed through to the residence. He had only been to Yugi's home once that he could remember, and that was when Seto was trapped in his virtual world game prototype by the Big Five. He found the rec room and set his duffel bag on the floor beside the couch. He took a seat and looked to the big television across from him. It was on, and was set to a Duel Monster's tournament going on in America. He leaned back and watched with mild interest, though he didn't recognize the two duelists currently battling. They looked much younger. He noticed a banner hanging in the background behind the duel arena: _Industrial Illusions Junior Championship._

He watched the duel go on as Yugi made his way into the room and sat next to him.

"Anything exciting happen?"

Mokuba shrugged and pointed to the blonde boy on the left of the screen. "This guy has been trying to beat his opponent's dragon deck with a bunch of fairies. And he's doing a pretty poor job."

Yugi laughed. "Hey, never underestimate someone's deck. Fairies aren't always as wimpy as they appear." They continued to watch, and a few turns later, the dragon duelist revealed his trump cards and won the duel. "Though, in this case….that fairy deck could use some power-ups…"

Mokuba smirked. "That's because dragons are the best!"

Yugi laughed. "It sounds like Kaiba is rubbing off on you, Mokuba." He smiled and switched off the TV. "Speaking of, I have to admit, I was surprised when I got the call from him today."

"Yeah, this was all very last minute." Mokuba sighed. "I hope your grandpa isn't too upset."

Yugi waved his hand. "Nah. I mean, I did forget he was meeting with his friend tonight and normally he doesn't like it when I invite the gang over in his absence. I mean, you know Joey and Tristan, and how they can get if things get heated. But this isn't the gang. It's just you and me. How much trouble can we really cause?"

Mokuba grinned.

"Ok, that look is scary." Yugi laughed. "I'll rephrase. How much trouble can we possibly cause _by accident_?"

Mokuba tapped his chin. "Well… a few years ago I almost set my kitchen on fire."

Yugi's eyes widened. "Uh…"

"Luckily Seto and Roland showed up when they did. How was I to know I couldn't put foil in the microwave?" Mokuba laughed. "And another time I forgot to turn off the stove…"

"…i hope you've learned better?" Before Mokuba could answer, Grandpa popped his head in the doorway.

"Okay, kids. I'm off. Play nicely, now!"

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Yugi waved. "Have fun!" He let out a sigh once the old man left. _Uh…I'm not letting Mokuba go near an appliance… take-out night it is._

* * *

An empty pizza box lay open on the coffee table as the two boys stared intently at the TV screen. Controllers were in hand as they played a puzzle game on Yugi's retro game console.

"Aww, I give." Mokuba cried as he set his controller down on his lap and rubbed his eyes. "I can't figure this one out. We've been staring at this puzzle for the last ten minutes. It's impossible!"

Yugi laughed and leaned back on the couch. "Nothing is impossible, Mokuba. Every puzzle has a solution. We just need to find it."

"Yeah, but every time we get close to the last heart, the creepy pink monster shoots us through the trees!"

"That just means we are going about this the wrong way. Since we keep making the same mistakes, we should start the round over and take a different tactic. Perhaps there is a different heart that's meant to be the last one. And I bet by switching our strategy, we will find away to block off the monster, too."

Mokuba sighed. "I suppose." The repetitive peppy-game-music was starting to get to him, so he muted the TV, then looked to his companion. "How did you get to be so good at puzzles?!"

Yugi laughed. "It's in my blood." He glanced away pensively, "we must have patience, Mokuba. Not every puzzle is quick to solve. Some take a lot of thought… or many years to complete."

The younger boy caught on. "You're talking about the millennium puzzle…"

Yugi nodded, and smiled sadly. " it took me eight years to solve that. And you can imagine how many times I was tempted to throw in the towel. Grandpa was losing faith, and so it became my mission to complete it no matter what…no matter how long it took." He glanced to Mokuba. "Can I ask you something?"

Mokuba nodded.

"How did you and Kaiba find the millennium puzzle? After my final duel with Atem…once he crossed through the gateway to the afterlife, the millennium stone was destroyed, and the items disappeared.

Mokuba tucked his legs up under him. "It took Seto a lot of digging. He first noticed something was off when you and your friends returned from Egypt. He noticed the millennium puzzle was gone. I was in the office with him when he made these calls to Egypt, and finally got a hold of Ishizu Ishtar…and she told us what happened, how the Pharaoh's spirit was set free. Yugi…" Mokuba trailed off, as he spoke quietly, sadly. "You didn't see the look on Seto's face…I had never seen that look before. He was devastated. I took his hand, and he squeezed it for a long time…. almost like he needed me to keep him grounded.

"Not long after, he became obsessed. When he wasn't working on official KC business, he was researching Egyptology, archeology…. I found him a few times slumped over his desk at home with his laptop in front of him. Finally, he discovered the millennium stone and the shrine in Kul Elna, and he put together a team of the best archeologist's money could buy. But soon after, the pressure started getting to him. The teams weren't finding anything at the dig sites. So, he sent me to oversee the project, and he focused on the new Duel Disks. The next day, we found pieces of the puzzle buried deep in the dirt and rock."

"But…how did he reassemble it so fast?"

"Seto took it to the Space Station. His AI computer up there could rebuild it. And well, you know what happened after that."

Yugi nodded. "Is he better now? I mean…about the Pharaoh?"

Mokuba shrugged. He pulled his knees up and rest his chin on his kneecaps. "I dunno. I mean, around my birthday he was much happier than he was in a long time. And for several weeks he's stayed chill…well, as 'chill' as my brother could ever get. But lately, this week, he's buried himself back into his work again."

"And this…emergency trip?"

"There's some research project he's doing on the Space Station that apparently couldn't wait. I don't really know what it is, Seto never told me. But I did see him working on some old blueprints a while back. It kinda looked like those old virtual reality pods. I'm not really sure."

Yugi nodded slowly. He watched Mokuba. The boy looked much sadder now than when he tossed down the controller. He didn't realize how emotional Mokuba was about the ordeal from the puzzle. He got up and head for the kitchen.

Mokuba looked up, confused. "Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, I'll be right back!" Yugi called. Mokuba could hear Yugi rummaging around, and a few moments later, he returned with two bowls of ice cream. He handed one to Mokuba with a smile. "I found I always feel a bit better after a bowl of frozen chocolate."

Mokuba took his and forced a smile in return. "Thanks, Yugi."

Once dessert was finished, Yugi picked up his controller and gave Mokuba a grin. "Now that the brain freeze is over, what do you say we finish our puzzles? There's a little pink princess ball that needs saving."

* * *

Activity was buzzing around the launch site to the KaibaCorp Space Station as a helicopter landed on the designated pad. Once down, the door slid open and Seto Kaiba jumped out, briefcase in each hand. He pushed past the many employees and operators rushing about and entered the facility. He didn't acknowledge anyone as he brushed by, straight for the center of the computer chamber where the transport chair sat waiting for him. Once he sat down, he turned to one of his security officers.

"Is the elevator ready for launch?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba, sir."

"…then what are you waiting for?" said an agitated response. Moments later, the doors slid shut and the loud locking mechanism was in place.

 _Three…two…one…_

The elevator roared to life as it rocketed itself up the shaft to the station above. The moving platform then brought him inside from the elevator shaft. Once the doors slid closed, he closed his own eyes and took a deep breath.

"This could be it…" Seto said to himself. "My last chance... this had better work."

He marched into the large laboratory where he was welcomed by his team of scientists and technicians, handpicked by himself out of his entire team from HQ.

"Welcome back to the station, Mr. Kaiba." Said Jefferson, the lead technician.

Seto waived him off. "Don't bother with the pleasantries." He replied dryly. He slammed one of his cases down on the workbench and popped open the lid. Stacks of blueprints and schematics lay inside, and he lifted them out and passed them around to his team. "You all know your assignments, you were all present at the meeting this afternoon. We may only have one shot to make this work." He turned to Samson, the head scientist. "Has the virtual pod been retrieved from the old research lab in Domino?"

Samson bowed his head slightly. "Yes, sir. The last few components are being brought up the cargo shafts as we speak."

Seto nodded. "Good. Once every piece is accounted for, begin the reprogramming. The first thing we need to do is strip away the virtual software."

"yes, sir." The teams scrambled to get to work.

Seto turned back to the briefcase. The only thing remaining inside was a small box. He clutched the case in his hand and left the lab, moving across the station to the analytical computer console. There was still one component of this new prototype that remained a mystery to him. And for this whole ordeal to succeed, he needed to discover its secrets. He set the box down on a console desk and hovered his hand near the lid, as if hesitating to open it.

With a heavy sigh, he lifted the lid of the box and took in a sharp breath. The familiar millennium symbol stared up at him. He pulled out the box's content. A single cube with strange markings was lifted in his hand. This seemingly innocent object, he knew, contained many hidden abilities. He witnessed it transform into an oddly-shaped duel-disk. He watched it absorb the anger and hatred of a duelist to the point where it nearly destroyed his duel exhibition, and by extension, the world. But most importantly, he watched how this cube could transport a person through dimensions. And _that_ last ability was what he was most interested in.

Seto placed the Quantum Cube into the analyzer tray and watched the screen before him. The cube appeared, and his computer lasers went to work. Seto crossed his arms and watched as data started listing on the screens before him. It was only a matter of time before the secrets of the cube were revealed. Once he could understand how the cube operated, he could install it into the prototype.

 _Pharaoh…If I can't get you to return to this world, I'll do whatever I must, to duel you in yours._


	4. Final Preparations

**A/N: This chapter has a few jumps in it, so I put the dates in to keep track of the passage of time. This chapter and the next will be the last ones to deal with what happens "pre-DSOD". I'm really excited to start getting into the main plot line, the aftermath, but I've also enjoyed writing the backstory behind the film's end.**

Chapter 3: Final Preparations

 **August 21.**

The grandfather clock chimed 9:30pm. Mokuba let out a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. He had been waiting for Seto to return home from HQ for hours. Tomorrow was his first day of school for the new year, and it was always a tradition for the two brothers to spend the eve getting Mokuba ready for his next round of classes. Though, in recent years, the elder brother seemed to lose a bit of interest in the activity, thinking Mokuba old enough to know what he would expect from school by now. Mokuba enjoyed the tradition more for the chance to spend time with his brother. And recently, moments like that were fleeting. Work days were extending later, and later. And it seemed at least once every Monday-Friday cycle, Seto pulled an "all-nighter". This evening was starting to look like one of those nights.

Mokuba jumped off the bed and paced in his room with his fists clenched. "This isn't fair! Why can't Seto just let go?"

He let out a sigh and sank down on his bed once more. _And here I thought he was getting better…that he was moving on to more important things…like the future of KaibaCorp…and me. How long is he going to keep up this obsession with the Pharaoh?_ The closest pillow got snatched and he clutched it tightly against his chest. His mind flashed back, to the evening when Seto broke the news of his project. That's what seemed to be the root of it all.

-Flashback-

 ** _August 6_**

 _Mokuba waved goodbye to Yugi and his grandfather as he got into the black limo. While he had enjoyed his weekend with the Mutos, he was more excited to get home. Seto had promised to reveal the new prototype to him._

 _The anticipation made the car ride back to Kaiba Manor seem like an eternity. By the time the vehicle pulled up to the stairs, the boy jumped out and dashed into the home. The driver would bring in his bags, he didn't care. Right now, there was only one person he wanted to see._

" _SETO!" There was only one place his brother would be hiding out at this hour. And there he sat, behind the desk in his office. Stacks of files covered every inch of the desk._

 _The elder Kaiba brother looked up from his work gave a small smirk at his brother's outburst. He stood up just in time to get rammed with a hug, which he was happy to return. "Hey kid."_

 _Mokuba gave a cheeky grin. "Did you miss me?"_

" _Of course."_

" _Did you really?"_

" _You don't believe me?"_

 _Mokuba raised his brow and looked up at his brother. "It's hard to read you sometimes, Seto."_

" _I prefer to be unreadable."_

" _mmmmmmh. Sure." Mokuba pulled away and plopped into Seto's office chair. "So. How was your weekend in space?" Mokuba waved his hands as if he was speaking 'magic'._

" _It was…productive. Very productive."_

 _Mokuba blinked. "That's all you have to say?"_

" _What were you expecting?"_

" _I don't know. Juicy details."_

 _Seto rolled his eyes in response. "I spent three days bouncing back and forth between multiple labs and computer consoles." He perched on the corner of the desk and looked at Mokuba. "But you don't really want to hear all of that."_

" _I would…if you tell me what you've been up to!" Mokuba grinned and bobbed up and down in the chair. One of the papers on his desk showed the old virtual pods used just after Duelist Kingdom. Mokuba pointed to it. "So, what is it, a new virtual reality game? Are we finally refining the old software we made years back? Are we gonna market these pods to arcades all over Japan?" Mokuba was growing more excited by the minute._

 _Seto hesitated before answering. "No. Not quite. It's not a game pod. Not exactly."_

 _Mokuba tilted his head, curious. "What do you mean?"_

" _This prototype isn't something for mass market production. It's not a game for someone to play out. It's….a tool."_

" _I don't understand, Seto…"_

 _Seto leaned across the desk and gestured to another stack of files. These documents pertained to the mysterious cube used by Diva during the dueling exhibition early summer. "I'm going to use this pod to find the Pharaoh. If I pair it with the Quantum Cube…it should allow me to cross into other worlds."_

" _Wait…this is about the Pharaoh?" Mokuba tried hard to hide his falling expression._

" _You're surprised?" Seto asked, raising a brow. "Ever since he and Yugi split, it's always been about him."_

 _Mokuba rubbed his arm nervously. He had to tread carefully. "Yeah, but…after all of your attempts…don't you think it's time to stop?"_

" _Not until I've exhausted every option available. You know I've never given up on anything in my entire life."_

 _Mokuba knew he had a point. The day Seto Kaiba calls it quits on any personal or corporate related mission is a day hell freezes over. All Mokuba could do was sigh and force a smile. "Well Seto, I know this is important for you. But do you really think it's possible?"_

" _Of course. There are no limits to what I can accomplish." Seto said matter-o-factly. "It's just a matter of time until my techs can integrate the power of the Quantum Cube with our KaibaCorp technology."_

" _Well, if this will make you happy, then I'm happy, big bro." Mokuba said._

 _Seto leaned over and tussled the boy's messy hair. "Thanks, Mokuba. I-"_

 _Mokuba interrupted him. "Just make sure you don't go nuts about it. Promise me."_

" _Alright, Mokuba. I promise."_

-End Flashback-

Mokuba sighed. Upon reflection, he realized he should have held his brother to that promise. There was no real pinky swear. While on the outside, he supported his brother and his decisions, he couldn't help but feel slightly put off. Seto's obsessions sometimes became unhealthy, and he had a terrible feeling this drive to defeat the Pharaoh would eventually lead to something terrible.

It was 10:30 when Seto Kaiba strolled through the front door of his home. He made the usual stop to his office to set the briefcase down, and decided to head to bed early instead of staying up for a few extra hours. Dealing with his board of directors for hours on end had given him a headache.

He stopped dead in his tracks on his way back into the foyer when he took notice of the stairs. Mokuba, dressed in his pajamas, was laying across them, fast asleep. He couldn't help but let out a sad sigh, knowing Mokuba had tried to stay up way later than he should have just to see him. Carefully, Seto bent down and scooped his brother up into his arms and carried him back upstairs. Luckily, Mokuba didn't wake up, and Seto managed to get him back into his room and tucked into bed. As he turned to leave the room, he noticed Mokuba's backpack sitting on a nearby chair. Then it struck him, why Mokuba was hoping to see him so late. He started school in the morning; his first day of middle school, and the kid was always so adamant about the childish traditions of past years.

He spotted a notepad on Mokuba's desk. He walked over to it and wrote down a message. He slipped the note into one of Mokuba's folders tucked away in his sack and gave one final look at his little brother before shutting the door behind him. _Sleep well, Mokuba._

* * *

 **August 22**

Mokuba was hesitant to vacate the limo that morning. He looked out at his new school. Domino Intermediate, where he would be spending his next two academic years: seventh and eighth grade. He recalled back in the middle of the summer when he and his fellow classmates spent a day here for new-student-orientation. The academic campus was far more spread out than the elementary school he had grown accustomed to.

"Mr. Mokuba, is something wrong?" Roland asked from the driver's seat.

"Do I really have to go?"

"Well sir…" Roland started to reply. "You can always return with me to KaibaCorp instead and further your corporate career."

"Wait, really?"

"But doing so would anger Master Kaiba. And most likely have you sent back here later in the day. It would be easier for you to just step out and start the day on a good foot."

Mokuba sighed. Seto has been on short fuses, and he didn't want to be the reason for an explosive lecture. "Okay, okay. You win." He didn't see the proud smirk showing on Roland's face. "Are you coming to get me after school? Or…"

"Or?"

"Will Seto come get me?" Mokuba asked, hopeful.

Roland watched the boy through the rear mirror. "I'm afraid Master Kaiba will be busy with…" He saw Mokuba's sad face forming. "….I'll see what I can do."

"Yesss!" Mokuba grinned, and finally hopped out of the car. Perhaps today wouldn't be so bad after all.

He pulled out a slip of paper from the front pocket of his backpack. His homeroom and locker assignment, that was mailed home to him a week before. He tried to remember where locker 1025B was located. Was it upstairs in the history wing? No…it was in the back wing near the fine arts department.

He felt relieved that Roland dropped him off at school so early. By the time he made it to his destination, other students were arriving and slowly filling the halls. No one he recognized. Suddenly, it dawned on him. Being in the lower grade at this school, he was now at the bottom of the "social food chain", despite his name. Not that he had many school friends in the sixth grade, but he wondered where many of the familiar faces were. Deciding he didn't want to loiter in the halls for too long, he looked down at his assignment paper. His homeroom was 201. One of the history classrooms upstairs. He made his way there as quickly as possible.

The room was empty so far. Mokuba took a seat towards the window. Second seat back. Each desk contained a school calendar and assignment planner. Mokuba took a few moments to flip through each one. His homeroom also served as his first period class, so he opened his backpack and pulled out a folder and notebook. Something fell out of the folder and onto the floor. _Huh? What's this?_ He picked up the slip of paper and unfolded it.

"This is…from Seto!" He whispered to himself. "But when…" he stopped as he started to read.

 _Kid,_

 _Sorry I missed you last night. I'll spare you the details of what happened._

 _Good luck on your first day of school. I look forward to you telling me all about it. I hear seventh grade is a big deal. How does it feel to be the first Kaiba to be attending Middle School? I expect you to make your mark, and knock everyone's cheap socks off._

 _Seto_

Mokuba smiled to himself as he reread the letter a few more times. The excitement was starting to grow a bit. Seto was right, he got to do something that his brother couldn't. Maybe Middle school could be his chance to make a mark for himself other than just being 'Seto Kaiba's kid brother'.

 _Today might not be so bad after all…_

* * *

"Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed as he climbed into the back seat of the limo. He had completely forgotten about his request to Roland that morning. The final bell at three couldn't come fast enough for him. Today was more exhausting than he expected. The distance between his classrooms was further than he anticipated, and crowded hallways made moving around slower. He made a mental note to find alternate routes to some of his classes.

"So, how was your first day?" Seto asked.

"It was good." Mokuba said. "Well, actually, it was tiring. I didn't realize there would be so much walking."

"That's all you have to say about the day?"

"Well…the textbooks got a lot heavier."

This brought a laugh from Seto. "You'll have to find a strategic time to stop by your locker. Don't expect to carry every textbook to every class."

"There are strategic times?" Mokuba asked, turning to his brother. "Tell me more!"

Seto smirked, and he could see Roland's amused expression from the mirror. "Let me see your schedule." Mokuba pulled it out of his bag and handed it to his brother. "Ah, see. You have a third period study hall during these rotations, and a seventh period free on the opposite days. Use those opportunities to get some of your homework done, then you can use your hall pass to go to your locker and drop off those books. Less to carry, less backache, less homework you have to complete at home….or in my office."

"Wow, Seto. How do you know so much about middle school?"

"High school isn't much different, kid. Except the kids are bigger, the books are heavier, and the research papers get longer."

"Oh." Mokuba frowned. "I think I liked elementary school better."

"I'm not surprised."

"How did you like middle school?"

"I didn't go, remember?" Seto replied.

"Oh. Right." Mokuba nodded, remembering the note from that morning. "Well, high school then."

Seto shrugged. "The intense private instruction set by our stepfather taught me more than I would ever learn in public school. I went through high school more for the social experience, and the proof of the diploma. Not that I needed it to secure a job. I had KaibaCorp well before that. I went through school to make an example for you. Hopefully, you'll have a better academic experience than I." He added with his trademark smirk and chuckle. "You'll actually learn something."

* * *

 **September 7.**

"Roland? Aren't we going home?" Mokuba asked after Roland picked him up from school that day.

"No, Mr. Mokuba. Master Kaiba requested your presence."

"At the office? But he'll be heading home soon, too. It's Friday." Mokuba replied. He looked out the window. The KaibaCorp skyscraper was visible and getting closer. He noticed the surrounding trees were moving in the wind. But….it wasn't windy today. And what was that noise?

When the limo pulled into the Corporation lot Mokuba noticed a helicopter on the ground, running, and ready for take off. Roland opened the door for Mokuba and gestured for him to climb aboard.

"Roland…where is Seto?"

"Aboard the station, sir."

Mokuba's eyes went wide. "The station? I get to go to the station? YES!" Mokuba pumped his fists into the air. "It's about time I got to see his new project."

"Master Kaiba is very proud of his prototype. He hopes you will be, too." The helicopter rocked as it took off.

"I'm sure I will be, Roland. Seto has poured so much time and soul….and sanity into this project." Mokuba smiled. "And it's my job as Seto's little brother, and as KaibaCorp's Vice President, to support him in his endeavors." _…. Even though I don't really agree with him one hundred percent._ Mokuba pulled open his backpack and looked to Roland sitting beside him. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna get a head start on my homework."

"Of course, Sir."

The ride to the launching site was a quiet one. Mokuba had put headphones on and listened to music on his mp3 player while he completed some of his math homework. After that had completed mid journey, the young Kaiba had decided to doze off, and ended up leaning over onto Roland's arm. Roland glanced down and a small smile formed on his face. The 'employee' Roland wanted to jostle Mokuba awake and straighten him up, but the 'family friend' Roland who helped raise the Kaiba brothers seemed content to let the boy rest.

Roland himself was a bit apprehensive about this trip to the station. During his phone call, he learned Seto wanted to discuss something of great importance. With the tone of voice Seto used, Roland was afraid it wasn't going to be good news.

Mokuba was jostled awake a bit later when the helicopter landed at the site. "Wow, here already?" Once the helicopter doors open, he eagerly grabbed his bag and hopped off, with Roland behind him. Together, they made their way inside to the elevator shaft.

"Go ahead, Mr. Mokuba." Roland said, gesturing to the seat inside the chamber.

"There isn't enough room for both of us?"

"I'm afraid not." Roland replied. "Go ahead and take the lift up. I'll be right behind you."

Mokuba took a seat and looked around the elevator pod. The doors closed in front of him and the space inside seemed to get a lot smaller. He gripped the arms of the seat as the lift roared to life and shot him quickly up to the station. He closed his eyes so he didn't have to see the earth growing more distant with the speed of the elevator rising. When the lift finally stopped and the doors opened, Mokuba let out a sigh of relief. He felt glad he didn't have to make the trip up to this station often. The mere shot-ride alone gave him a little queasiness.

Roland followed a few minutes later, and the two of them took the moving platform into the heart of the station.

"Do you know where Seto is up here?"

"I believe the central lab. There's –" he couldn't get out anymore, because Mokuba suddenly darted ahead of him down the hall.

It took Mokuba a moment to sort out which scientist was his brother. Everyone in the room was wearing the same long white lab coat. But there was one standing in the unmistakable 'Kaiba pose': Arms crossed, back angled back slightly; and anyone who seemed to approach him appeared nervous. Seto was staring at a computer console off to the side.

"Seto!" Mokuba waved as he zoomed over to his brother's side. Seto smirked and greeted him back with a tussle of his messy black hair.

"Hey kid. How was school?"

Mokuba shrugged. "It was ok. Nothing of interest happened."

"You have a lot of homework?"

"I did most of it on the helicopter ride."

Seto nodded. "Good. I was hoping you could stay up here with me for the weekend."

Mokuba's eyes widened. "Really?"

"You did express interest in coming up here," Seto said, and knelt down so he was at more eye-level with Mokuba. "It's been getting harder for me to take time off for you, so I thought maybe you could help me out here instead this weekend."

"I'd love to!" Mokuba smiled. "Though I'm not sure what I can do." He glanced around the lab. The scientists and technicians were hard at work. "My brain isn't like yours, Seto."

Seto cracked a slight smile. "Your brain is fine, Mokuba. Don't sell yourself short. You help me in ways you could never understand." He rose to his full height and put his hand on Mokuba's back. "C'mon. Let me show you the pod." He escorted Mokuba deeper into the lab. No one was currently working on the prototype, which allowed the brothers a few moments of privacy. Roland remained positioned outside the doorway.

"Wow…" Mokuba said quietly in awe as he walked up to the pod. It looked like the old virtual reality pod in terms of shape and overall design, though peering inside he could see some differences, mostly due to the updates to technology. "This is so neat!" Seeing the prototype in person did help him feel a little better about it. "So, how does it work?"

"Take a seat inside."

"Wait, what?" Mokuba freaked. "What if it turns on?"

"Nothing will happen. It's not connected yet. I won't shoot you halfway across the cosmos."

"Promise?"

"Would I lie?" Seto countered, raising a brow.

Mokuba mulled it over for a moment just for show, and hopped into the pod. "It feels just like the old virtual pod, bro."

"It should. It's the same basic design. In fact, it's the same damned seat." Seto replied, leaning over the side to point out different components. "It was dismantled before being brought up here. Unfortunately, the original plans for the pod were destroyed when the Big Five took over my research lab."

"You guys did a great job putting humpty-dumpty back together again!"

"Thanks. So," Seto pointed to the original deck chamber. "You remember this is where you loaded my dueling deck when you came to rescue me, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's been converted to a housing chamber, for the Quantum cube. And this…" he gestured to the blank console screen, "will connect to the Cloud network. That will allow the pod to travel exactly where I want to go."

Mokuba nodded and ran his fingers over the blank console. "This is impressive, Seto. Really." He could see a proud smirk forming on his brother's face. "Do you really think it'll work?"

The smirk faded. "Of couse. It's my design. Although, there have been setbacks regarding the cube merging with our tech. The early simulations didn't provide much success. We're running another one right now, different variables."

"Is it working?"

Seto nodded slowly. "It's showing promise. Like all the ones before it. Only time will tell."

Mokuba nodded, and tried to suppress a yawn. It didn't quite work, and he his face turned red with embarrassment.

"Don't tell me I've bored you…"

Mokuba shook his head quickly. "NO, I swear you haven't." He replied. "It's just been a long day at school, and I'm a little tired. I was kinda expecting to be going home and taking a little nap."

Seto nodded, and helped Mokuba out of the pod. "Why don't you have Roland take you back to my quarters. Get some rest. I'll come get you in about an hour, we'll grab a bite."

"Okay." Mokuba smiled. He gave his brother a quick hug, and walked out of the lab. Roland nodded to him, and then glanced to Seto. The CEO shot him a 'we need the talk' look, which Roland understood, as the security chief escorted Mokuba to the sleeping quarters.

When Roland returned, he found his employer circling the prototype, slowly tracing his fingers along the open rim. Roland cleared his throat to announce his presence.

Seto didn't look up. "Is he settled in?"

"Yes, sir."

Seto nodded, and pressed another topic. "The new duel disks release Tuesday. I assume everything is still on schedule?"

"It is, sir." Roland responded, and tilted his head, curious. Something was off. Seto Kaiba almost seemed…distracted. He knows Seto wanted to discuss something with him…was that the cause for his behavior? "Mr. Kaiba, you mentioned on your call earlier, there was a matter you wished to discuss?"

"Yes." Seto straightened and turned towards his right-hand. "I'm going to need you to stay at the mansion this week for Mokuba. I won't be leaving with you two when he heads home Sunday morning."

"You're remaining aboard the station, sir?" Seto nodded in response to Roland's question. "For how long?"

"Until after I test the prototype."

Roland didn't hide his surprise. "It's that close to being finished?"

"The pod construction is complete; the new software has been installed. With the confirmation of the computer simulation, this machine only needs moved to the cargo elevator shaft for installation, and it's good to go."

"I didn't realize it would be ready so soon."

"We had a breakthrough earlier this week. That's why I rushed up here…and why I wanted to let Mokuba see it. I did promise him."

"Does Mr. Mokuba know about its completion?"

"He knows we are running another simulation. I didn't tell him it was the final one."

"With all due respect, Mr. Kaiba…. don't you think he has a right to know?"

"He will know once it's finished. Don't think I'll just vanish off to another dimension without a word to my brother first."

Roland clasped his hands behind his back. He had a delicate issue to bring up, and wasn't entirely sure how Seto would take it. "Sir. How long do you plan on being away in this…other dimension?"

Seto shrugged with indifference. "A few hours? It shouldn't take too long to locate the Pharaoh and duel him. Then I'll return." His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Well sir…" Roland adjusted the knot of his tie nervously, as if the fabric was choking him. "I….have you considered the possibility that you could be away for much longer than you anticipate?"

"Roland. How long do you think a _Duel Monsters_ match takes?"

Roland shook his head. "Not the duel. What if the mere act of returning becomes complicated? The pod malfunctions…..the cube is lost…or some other factor out of your control? What will become of Mr. Mokuba?"

"Mokuba has survived on his own when I've gone on convention and business tours around America before. This will be no different."

"Yes, sir. Those lasted a few days…a week tops." Roland sighed. "As your chief of staff, I have to put Mokuba's livelihood and safety into account. Hypothetically speaking….and I know you don't wish to consider this. What if you never reach your destination?"

Seto tapped his fingers against the pod. Roland didn't have to spell it out any further; the implication was clear. _What if he never came back_ , was the underlying message. He was Mokuba's legal guardian. "It seems you've already given thought to the topic." It wasn't the answer Roland wanted, but at least the discussion was out.

"I have. Mokuba will need to be cared for by someone he trusts. Someone you trust as well. I am aware that's an extremely short list."

"Roland, it's a list of one." Seto replied and crossed his arms. "You."

"I am prepared to take on the assignment, sir." Roland said. To anyone else, the proper term would have been 'challenge' or 'burden', but since Roland was used to living at the mansion for extended periods of time, as well as assisting in handling official KaibaCorp affairs, not too much would be added on. Which brought on another related query. "And Kaiba Corp, sir? Who shall handle all affairs?"

Seto huffed. "You seem confident I won't be returning at all."

"I am merely planning for all contingencies, sir. Better to know now, than to scramble to find a way once it's too late."

Seto sighed. He had every ounce of faith in his technology, and was fully confident in his ability to return safely. Nothing he ever created had failed before. Part of him began to wonder if Mokuba talked his chief into questioning him like this to convince him not to go. Seto Kaiba was no fool. He could read Mokuba like an open book. Yes, he showed outward support, but he could tell his latest attempt to reach the Pharaoh bothered the kid.

He still had to answer Roland. "Mokuba will make the executive decisions in my absence. My _short_ absence. He bears the Kaiba name, and the corporate laws demand family take charge of this company. But he will need you, Roland. Guide him. Just be mindful, his education is equally as important as this company, if not moreso. He doesn't have the advantage of intense private study that I had thanks to our stepfather."

"I understand, sir." Roland replied with a bow to his head. "I promise you, sir. Should anything happen, Mokuba will be in good hands, and well taken care of."

"It won't have to come to that, Roland. Trust me. This will work."


	5. Gone

**A/N: Well guys, this is it. The chapter you've been waiting for. You know what's going to happen, so I won't prolong it any further. Also, it's July 7. Happy Birthday Mokie! (Yes, I'm that mean, posting such a chapter on his b-day.)**

Chapter 4: Gone.

 **September 14**

Seto Kaiba, exhausted from countless hours at work, finally relented. He had been aboard the station for a whole week now, and he was growing restless. The prototype remained in the lab. The final simulation that ran while Mokuba had stayed with him for the weekend took far longer than he anticipated, which created downtime. Under normal circumstances, he found slow periods like this inefficient. A waste. Were he at KaibaCorp right now, it would be easy for him to find some way to occupy his time. There was always _something_ that required his attention. But not here. On the station, there was only one project. One reason. The prototype. And right now, all he could do was wait.

He sat down on a chair in his personal quarters. It was a small room, containing a simple bunk, two-drawer cabinet, desk and chair. He leaned backwards and rubbed his hands over his face. His eyes begged for sleep. They were practically bloodshot from staring at screens for so long. _Maybe I should take a….nap._ He was never one to sleep during the day. It felt so unnatural to waste daylight hours sleeping. Of course, he often refused to waste nighttime hours for sleep, but that was another matter.

Seto shook his head. It's not as if he had anything else to get to. His scientists were ordered to page him when all simulations were over, regardless of the outcome. A fifteen minute power-nap wouldn't be the end of the world. He stood, and shed his white trench coat, draping it over the desk. The room was small, and with three large strides, he was at his bunk. His body essentially collapsed onto it, and once his head hit the pillow, the eyes closed.

But he couldn't sleep. His mind was racing with variables, and there was too much underlying excitement over the upcoming journey. He tried to push it all to the back of his mind, just for a short while. He really did need rest. There was no way he could even make this dimensional trip if he was barely coherent.

Five minutes was all the true sleep he got before he heard the loud 'ping' from his laptop. _Ignore it…_ he told himself. _It's not the lab…it can wait…_

 _Ping!_

Too late. He was awake now. With a growl, he forced himself upright and marched over to his laptop; his fingers angrily punching keys until the interrupting messages appeared. They were emails, both from Roland, and time stamped at 2:24am September 14th. _Why is Roland up so late?_ Was the first question to pop into his head. He opened the first email and sighed. It was only Roland's daily corporate report from Thursday. Important news, yes, but he didn't have to break his sleep for it. _What else did Roland think important enough to send in the middle of the night?_

Seto marked the first email to read later, and the second appeared on the screen. There was no text message included. Just a video; one that started automatically.

" _Hi big brother!"_

"Mokuba?" Seto asked out loud to himself. He rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and leaned closer to the desk, curious to what his brother had to say.

" _Roland thought I should send you a video update to tell you how my week at school was going." Mokuba smiled and stepped back after re positioning his tablet._ Seto could see the video being recorded in Mokuba's bedroom. It must've been close to bedtime, Seto noticed his brother in his pajamas. Something black was in the background but mostly out of view. He wondered what it was, but returned focus to Mokuba for the time being.

" _Well, actually…I was just going to send you a written message. It was Roland's idea to film a short video. He said you would probably enjoy this more. Anyways….This has been a long week, bro. I think I've finally gotten used to the rotation schedule this place uses." Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck and made a face. "My first report of the year was announced today. It's my world history class. The first section is on America, and so we each have to pick a president and write a two page report. But that's not the worst…" Mokuba got real close to the camera and made a dramatic face. "We have to present it too! Like…in front of the class. Nooooo!"_

Seto couldn't help but chuckle as he rolled his eyes at Mokuba's dramatics.

" _Lets see…what else…my literature class is pretty boring. We're just reading different short stories from the textbook and analyzing them. We get reading comprehension quizzes for every story. I've aced them all. You'll be proud." Mokuba smiled. "In gym, the teachers thought it would be fun for us to play dodge ball. I didn't get a whole-lotta chances to chuck any balls around, but for some reason, everyone wanted me out early on. I've never had so many things thrown at me all at once before! Don't worry though, I didn't get hurt…..much."_

" _Well, not much else has been-" Mokuba was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat. The black mass moved more into the camera's view. When he knelt to nudge Mokuba's shoulder, his face became visible. It was Roland, with a stern look on his face. Mokuba sighed and turned back to the camera. "Yeah….Roland demanded I show this to you." Mokuba rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a math test with a big red 'C-' circled on the front. "We had an algebra test last week, and the teacher passed them back today. I promise you, Seto…I did study! I swear I did." Mokuba's voice softened and his face fell. "I know you don't approve of grades like this. I promise to do better." He set the test down. "I miss you, Seto. Hope everything is ok up there in space. I gotta go now. It's really late, and I have another test tomorrow. Bye bro!" The image fizzled out._

Seto frowned as the video stopped. He was not at all pleased at seeing Mokuba's test score. He knew the kid wasn't too good at math, but his grades never got that low. He replayed the video again, for sentiment. The video update was the first he's heard from Mokuba since they parted on Sunday. _At least the kid seems to be doing alright. I miss you too, Mokuba. Don't worry. I'll be—_

"Mr. Kaiba. Mr. Kaiba!" said an interrupting voice. The KC icon on his coat was blinking red. The voice came from Samson, the head scientist.

He reached over and pressed the intercom on his coat. "What is it now?"

"The simulations have ended sir."

Seto's eyes widened and he straightened up. _This could be it…._ "…And?"

"They were a success sir."

A feral grin started to creep over the CEO's face. _Finally….I'll reclaim my glory!_ "Move the pod to the launch site immediately!" he barked into the intercom as he quickly put on his trench coat and darted out to the lab.

* * *

"It was nice of yer corporate suit to let us pick ya up from school, Mokuba." Joey grinned as he and Tristan walked with Mokuba on the sidewalk.

"Yeah," Mokuba smiled. "He has a couple of meetings this afternoon to take care of. Security department related stuff. He offered for Fugata to come pick me up, but I'd rather hang out with you guys for a few hours than just sit in Seto's office and try to hack games on his computer."

"What's Kaiba up to these days?" Tristan asked. "I haven't seen him since early summer. Well, not that I'm complaining much, but still."

"Seto's really busy." Mokuba said as he kicked a stone out of his way. "He's up on our KC space station right now. There's a project that he's pretty deep in." He didn't feel like sharing the true nature of the prototype. "This has been a pretty big week for us. Especially with the new duel disk release a few days ago."

"Ah, right!" Joey said. "I've been waitin' and waitin' for this to come out. That exhibition really showed them off well!"

"Thanks, Joey!" Mokuba grinned. "I'm just glad that guy Diva didn't make too much of a mess of things. Seto was worried that whole debacle upstaged his duel disk."

"Speakin' of duel disks…I want one." Joey said. "Especially since Tristan here broke mine!"

"BROKE IT?!" Tristan growled, grabbing Joey's shirt. "You asked me to fix it!"

"It still don't work!" Joey shoved. "So I demand a new one!"

"Then get a job!"

Mokuba watched them argue back and forth and sighed.

"I DID have a job, you jerk!"

"Dressing like a dog and handing out ice cream for two hours on weekends is not a job!"

"it gave me a paycheck! That counts as a job!"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!"

Joey and Tristan released each other from their headlocks and looked down at the young Kaiba before them.

"Thank you." Mokuba exhaled and tugged on the straps of his backpack. "As I was gonna say, if you want one, you can get one directly from KaibaCorp, or you can visit our website. The complete list of venders selling them is there."

"Wha?" Joey blinked. "Yugi's shop doesn't carry 'em?"

Mokuba shook his head. "No? We've never supplied our products there. You know, the whole rivalry thing. Plus, Seto's never stepped foot inside that shop since that whole ordeal with the Blue Eyes White Dragon card waaaaay back."

"The day that started everything." Tristan said.

Joey put on an innocent face and clasped his hands in front of his face, begging. "Any chance I could get one…..fo' free?"

Mokuba blinked. "You know how Seto feels about freebies."

"But…you gave away the first gen. ones for free…"

"We were also hosting a Duel Monsters tournament throughout the entire city. You needed it to participate. Sorry, Joey. But if you want the upgrade…it's on you."

"Aw nuts." Joey sighed. When they reached the familiar game shop, Joey opened the door for his friends. The little bell above the frame chimed.

Yugi looked up from the counter display and waved. "Hi guys!"

"Yugi!" Mokuba skipped over. "How's business?"

"Pretty good. We got the newest shipment of monster packs in today, so everyone was here to pick theirs up. What about you? How was school?"

Mokuba shrugged. "It was ok. Had a science test today. It didn't seem too difficult."

Yugi nodded and closed the back of the display case. "That's good. Do you have a lot of homework?"

Mokuba shook his head. "Not really. I had a late period study hall today, so I got most of it done. I'll do the rest later."

"So Yug'!" Tristan leaned against the counter. "Any new merch?"

Yugi grinned. "Well…Pegasus announced the release of a brand new series set. It'll come out for Christmas. But here's the brochure for the window!" Yugi opened a nearby box on the floor and pulled a stack of fliers. He handed each of his friends one.

"Woah!" Mokuba said, eyes wide. "These are…"

"The Egyptian Gods!" Joey finished. "Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra!"

Yugi grinned. "This will be a very limited series. Only 100."

Joey noticed the pre-order price at the bottom of the page. "ARGGG. Why must everything be so expensive?!"

Yugi blinked. "Huh?"

"He's butt-hurt about the new duel disk." Tristan explained. "Too expensive for his broke self."

"Oh." Yugi said. "Is that all?"

"Aw, c'mon, Yug'. Not you too!"

Yugi laughed and raised the counter-gate. "Go on upstairs. I'll be right there. Grandpa will be back soon to close up the shop."

Joey, Tristan and Mokuba walked up the stairs to the Muto living room. Mokuba took a seat in the recliner chair and took another look at the brochure in his hands. _I bet Seto would love these for his office. If they're coming in just in time for Christmas…they would make a perfect gift._ Mokuba glanced up at Joey and Tristan, who had begun wrestling on the ground after a meaningless argument got heated. Nothing unusual with those two. Mokuba avoided the flailing limbs and snuck back downstairs to the shop. Yugi was ringing up a young boy's purchase of booster packs.

When the customer left, Mokuba walked forward and tapped Yugi on the arm.

"Yugi?"

"Hey, what's up, Mokuba?" Yugi smiled.

"The God card statues…how early can you take orders?"

Yugi laughed a little. "Let me guess. For Kaiba?"

Mokuba nodded. "I think it'll make a cool present for him. He can put them in his office at work!" There was a pause. "Or at home. Anyway, I bet he would like it."

Yugi smiled and went into the back store room for the store, and came back out with a tablet. "I've been trying to get Gramps to upgrade our tech here in the store, but you know how he is…a stickler for the archaic." Yugi loaded up the ordering screen for the figurines.

Mokuba watched him. "Are they individual monsters?"

"Nope. One complete set. The ultimate in the collector's series." Yugi handed Mokuba the tablet so he could enter in his information.

"Do I have to pay now or when it comes in?

"Grandpa prefers pre-orders pay in advance, but if you need to wait, it's fine. I trust you." Yugi smiled.

"Hey, can we ship it to KaibaCorp?" Mokuba asked. "I'd love to see Seto's face when he opens it this Chrismas."

"You bet! Hey, record his reaction. I'd love to see it too."

* * *

Roland wiped some sweat from his brow and returned to his desk in the executive wing of the KC offices. His meeting with the directing heads of marketing went as well as he anticipated it would. This meeting was one he had to fill in for Seto Kaiba, and so he had to lead based on the notes Seto emailed over to him the day before.

Today, however, seemed a bit unusual. Normally when his boss was out of the office, Roland would be the recipient of several emails, phone calls, texts, demanding updates, meeting notes, whatever was on the schedule for the day. Today, nothing. Roland sat down in his chair and checked the emails. Nothing since yesterday, not even a response to Mokuba's video. Next, Roland reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. There was a message on the lock screen, two words. He didn't have to read them twice to know what it meant. Without a second thought, he snatched up the files on the desk and bolted for the elevator. He had to get to Mokuba before it was too late. He finally made it to the parking lot out front and hopped into his personal vehicle. The phone got tossed down on the passenger seat, screen lit with the message flashing.

 _Seto Kaiba: It's time_.

When the car pulled up to Yugi's residence, Grandpa Muto was just closing the game shop. The outer door was locked, and he had to knock loudly to get the elder man's attention. He pointed to the door knob when Grandpa Muto looked up at the disturbance, and walked over to open the door.

"I'm sorry, sir. But we're –oh!" Grandpa chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite recognize you. You're one of Mr. Kaiba's boys, aren't you. I recognize you from that tournament in America."

Roland blinked, then it hit him. Only one person wore overalls like those. "Ah yes…Apdnarg Otum." He cleared his throat. "I'm here for Mr. Mokuba. There is…an urgent situation at Headquarters that requires his attention."

"Ah, and he was just settling in with the boys upstairs. Hold on, I'll go fetch him."

Roland paced outside the door as he waited for Mokuba.

When Mokuba finally came out, he had a pouted expression on his face. "I wasn't expecting you until later, Roland. I was just about to trounce Joey in _Dr. Mario_!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid it's urgent."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Mister Kaiba, sir." Roland said, as he opened the passenger door for Mokuba. Once he was inside and buckled in, he moved over to the driver's seat and started the car.

"S-seto?" Mokuba asked. He glanced blankly ahead as Roland drove. _Did something happen up there? What could be so urgent that Seto would….unless…_ "He's…he's leaving, isn't he?"

Roland gestured to the phone mounted to the dashboard. With the screen illuminated, Mokuba could see the message.

"I…guess it was only a matter of time…" Mokuba said quietly, more to himself. He spotted a file folder with the KC labeling on it, so he picked it up and peeked. "Hey, this is the sales data for the new duel disk."

"It was from the meeting this afternoon. I intended on relaying the information to Mr. Kaiba afterwards, but his message came through first."

Mokuba glanced out the window. So much was running through his head. What would he say to his brother? This was a big moment for Seto, and Mokuba understood that. But it didn't change the boy's mind that his brother was being unnecessarily reckless. A few blocks closer to headquarters, and Mokuba glanced over to his driver. "Roland…do you…well…" he sighed. "This is really gonna happen, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so, sir."

"Do…you think it's a good idea?"

Roland turned the wheel as they pulled onto the property. "it's not really my place to say. Mr. Kaiba is extremely resourceful, and intelligent. He would never commit to an action unless he believed in its cause."

"But what if he's wrong?"

"Mr. Kaiba is never wrong."

"hmmph." Mokuba huffed and turned back to the window. _Seto is wrong plenty of times. You'll just never get him to admit it._

* * *

Mokuba took a seat in the executive conference room as the screen lit up. "Seto?"

Through the image, he could see his elder brother standing beside the pod. He donned his usual dueling attire. White studded trenchcoat, silver cuffs, black turtleneck and pants. But, it was also different. Mokuba watched him slide on his silver cuffs that seemed much thicker than normal. And one of his assistants was holding some sort of collar for him to put on.

Mokuba watched his brother finish the last of his dressing, and decided to speak up again. "Seto? I'm here."

Seto glanced up at the large screen above him and gave a nodded greeting.

 _He's not saying anything…_ Mokuba noted. _Why won't he talk to me? He wants me to see him off, doesn't he?_ He observed Seto hop into the pod and press something on his cuff. Blue lines formed all over his clothes, and the holo-projector roared to life inside the pod. It appeared as if he had synced his own self to the technology.

 _Maybe if I spark up a conversation….it might delay him…if I can get him talking, there's a chance he might change his mind…or at least delay this._ Mokuba cleared his throat and forced a smile. "Big Bro, the new duel disk numbers are in. It's a big hit!"

Seto pressed several buttons on the console before him before finally answering. "Thank you for the update, Mokuba, but I really need to concentrate right now."

There was a faint beep heard over the monitor. Mokuba swallowed, and asked, "big bro, are you _sure_ you want to go through with this? We haven't even _tested_ this prototype…..it-it's too dangerous!" His voice was wavering. If there was any chance of getting through his brother's thick skull, he had to do so sounding as worried as possible. Sometimes, playing the 'scared' card payed off. He had to try. At this point, there was nothing to lose.

 _Seto…why aren't you responding?_ Mokuba watched him for a few more seconds. _Is he even listening to me?!_

"Seto?" He got up and moved closer to the screen, and tried raising his voice to get the man's attention. "SETO!"

Now, Seto lifted his head and smiled at the screen above him. To Mokuba. The Quantum Cube was in his hands now.

 _Maybe this is it…_ Mokuba blinked.

He finally spoke. "It's time. Mokuba, you're in charge." He said as the lid to the pod closed around him with a hiss.

 _I'm…in…charge?! WHAT?_ _What does that mean? Is…he….not…_ A lump formed in Mokuba's throat as his voice cracked. "Seto…please…. Promise you'll come back…" Tears started to form in his eyes.

Sirens started going off in the background, as Seto barked the order, "Duel dimension system activate!"

Mokuba watched helplessly as the pod roared to life, and angled down towards the launch doors to the elevator shaft. Its path slid open, and what seemed to be thrusters on the back of the pod began to glow a bright blue and the sound of a launch was almost deafening. The lights burned brighter, and brighter, until everything was white.

The brightness on the screen was blinding. Mokuba had to look away and shield his eyes. When he opened them again and turned back to the screen before him, there was nothing.

Seto Kaiba was gone.


	6. First Adjustments

Chapter 5: First Adjustment

A large clap of thunder jolted Mokuba from his slumber early Saturday morning. The foul weather took him by surprise. He didn't remember the forecast showing storms overnight. With a yawn, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. His sleep-blurred vision made out the time on his clock: 2:46am. _Ugh…I gotta go back to sleep_ … Mokuba tried to resettle back under his blankets. He rolled onto his side, so his back faced the window, and closed his eyes once more. The storm continued to rage in the skies which made it hard for Mokuba to truly fall back to sleep.

About ten minutes later, it sounded as if the storm was beginning to move on. _It's about time…._ The boy yawned, and just as he got comfortable, there was a bright flash of lightning, which made his eyes snap open wide. Before he could even react to cover his ears from the approaching boom, there was a large crash of thunder that shook the entire mansion. The lightning bolt hit the ground not too far from the residence, and that was all it took to make Mokuba jump straight out of bed and flee the room. The dim glow of the night lamps in the hallway were blinking on and off from the power flux. Mokuba wasted no time dashing down the hall and barging into his brother's room. The thick black curtains were drawn, and effectively blocked out any light that could make its way into the room. Luckily, Mokuba didn't need light to see where he was going as he dove straight onto the bed.

"SETO!" he cried as he reached to grasp his brother's shoulders…. or, what was supposed to be. He ended up slumping down onto the pillows and blankets. Seto Kaiba wasn't there. His bed was empty.

"…S-Seto?" Mokuba looked around. The other half of the bed was vacant, too. "Where are you?" He asked outloud. There was another loud clap of thunder, it took him by surprise since the curtains blocked out the lightning flashing outside. Mokuba shifted on the bed and pulled his legs up to rest his chin on his knees.

He blinked hard as it all came to him. _Seto….he hasn't come back yet? But…he left hours ago._ Mokuba frowned and slid off the bed, walking slowly to the window and peering out through the curtains. The rain was falling much harder, and he could still make out lightning in the distance. _Please be careful, Seto…wherever you are. I hope you're finding what you're looking for. I hope it's all worth it. Stay safe…_ Mokuba shuffled back towards the bed and decided to climb in, where he soon fell back to sleep.

* * *

Breakfast that morning was a sight he would have to learn to get used to. The coffee pot wasn't running yet. Seto wasn't sitting at the table flipping idly through the newspaper. Instead, Roland was standing at the stove with a carton of eggs at the counter beside him.

"Woah…uh….hi?" Mokuba said meekly, scratching his head.

Roland glanced behind him. "Ah, good morning, Sir." He said. "I wasn't expecting you to be awake this early."

"yeah….well, I didn't sleep too well." Mokuba sighed. "The storm kept me up."

"Ah yes." Roland said, "it lingered for quite some time." He changed the subject. "Since you're up so early, would you care for your breakfast now, Sir?"

"Um, I guess. Whatever you're making, I'll have, too." Mokuba took a seat at the table and noticed the paper sitting to the side. He grabbed it and pulled out the comics section to read and pass the time.

Roland continued arranging their meals. "Any plans for today, Sir?"

Mokuba shrugged and didn't look up from the paper. "I dunno. Seto and I didn't make any plans today. I might just stay in and play some video games…"

"very good, Sir."

Mokuba frowned. "What about you, Roland?"

"Me, Sir?"

"You. Sir."

My duty is to you, Mr. Mokuba. Those were Mr. Kaiba's orders."

"You're gonna stay here and look after me, but what about your needs? It's the weekend…don't you want a day off?"

"Being Mr. Kaiba's right hand man and head of security, I am used to working without true personal time." Roland replied.

"Seto isn't here. You don't have to keep to his endless schedule." Mokuba pointed out. "You can have your weekends back if you want them. I don't mind."

Roland let out a small smile as he slid Mokuba's breakfast onto a plate and set it before the boy at the table. "I don't mind, Mr. Mokuba, really. It's what I'm used to."

Mokuba watched as Roland returned to the stove and prepared his own meal. "Dangit, Roland. You were supposed to say, 'yes, Mr. Mokuba. I would LOVE my days off back now that my insane-slave-driver boss decided to blast off to outer space!'." Mokuba sighed. He could hear Roland chuckling from across the room. "But I guess I'm your boss now…" the boy tapped his chin. "Well, the legit one, anyway"

"Yes, Sir." Roland brought him a plate of eggs and bacon and moved back to the stove.

"Thanks," Mokuba said, and jumped over to the refrigerator for a carton of juice. "Are…you gonna be cooking ALL of my meals?"

"Only on weekends, Mr. Mokuba. Mr. Kaiba's arrangement with the staff chef was only for the traditional Monday through Friday schedule."

Mokuba retrieved his glass and poured himself some juice. "I wonder if I can convince Roberts to make stuff I actually like."

Roland knew exactly what that meant, "I'm sorry, Sir, But Mr. Kaiba left explicit instructions pertaining to your dietary needs." Roland brought his own plate and mug of coffee to the table. "I'm afraid you won't get out of your distaste for vegetables that easily." He couldn't help but smirk to himself.

"DRAT!"

The head of security hesitated before picking up a utensil. "if I may, Mr. Mokuba…. you're taking this situation far better than I anticipated. You seem in much higher spirits this morning than last night when we left HQ."

Mokuba finished eating and nodded. "I think I am. I mean… I'm still not exactly pleased Seto just up and went the way he did. But…it's all about my mental attitude, right? I can stay mad at him until he comes back and make myself miserable, OR, I can think of this as a once-in-a-lifetime experience for my big bro, and be happy for him, and stay positive. Seto's smart. He knows what he's doing, and he'll be back before I know it." Mokuba smiled outwardly. He got up from his seat and cleaned up his dishes into the dishwasher. "Thanks for breakfast, Roland. I'm gonna go play some games now. You've got the rest of the day to do whatever you want."

Before Roland could protest, Mokuba had dashed out of the kitchen.

* * *

"Hey Yug'!" Joey said as he plopped down on the couch. "I see you finally got that camera developed!"

Yugi laughed as he sat down on the floor near his friend and sorted through all the photos. "Yeah. The memory card finally ran out of room. I usually try to wait until it's full before I send the data out to be developed." He smiled as he started making piles on the floor based on the events that the camera captured memories of.

Joey peered over his shoulder at the different piles. "Woah, even our trip to Egypt was on this camera?"

Yugi nodded, and picked up one of the photos. It was a group shot of the gang with Ishizu and Marik Ishtar, and Odion. That trip held so many memories. Not only for his own, but the Pharaoh's… he and his friends got to experience something no normal person were able to. How many could say they traveled into ancient Egypt to relive the memories of a Pharaoh from 5000 years ago? Yugi set the photo down and selected another image. This one brought a tear to his eye. _I don't remember this…. Grandpa must have had the camera._ It was an image of Atem, taken over for Yugi at the time. It was at the airport, and his was glancing pensively at a large mural on the wall of the famous Sphynx and Pyramids of Giza.

Joey noticed Yugi's shift. "Hey," he whispered gently, "You ok?"

For a moment, Yugi didn't reply. Soon though, he nodded and turned to smile at his best friend, wiping a tear from his eye. "Yeah, just reminiscing. Sometimes…it's still a little painful, not having him here. I'm getting better though, every day."

"He's been a part of you, literally, for a long time, Yug'. We're talking years of sharing yer' noodle with the guy's spirit. That kinda thing forms a connection. I miss him too, and Tristan, and Téa. But he's in our hearts. Those bonds o' friendship never fade away. Our memories of him are eternal."

Yugi nodded and set the photo of Atem aside. Perhaps he'd frame it. Yugi continued through the pile of pictures. There were some more images from their graduation ceremony, and now the final event to organize. "Hey, I almost forgot about these. Our day at Kaiba Land, remember?"

"Meh. How can I forget? Rich boy droppin' me in a vat of icy water!"

Yugi cracked up laughing. "You mean….this?" He showed a still shot of Seto's arm recoiled with the tennis ball in hand, and Joey's horrified face from in the tank.

"Wait…you took pictures o'that? YUG'!" Joey whined.

"Not just pictures…" Yugi reached in the envelope and pulled out a DVD.

"You have…VIDEO?"

Yugi only kept laughing.

"Lemme see those pictures. I hope you took more than just moments at my expense…."

Yugi calmed down. "Of course! It's from our entire day. See? This is you posing with the Panther Warrior guy handing out balloons."

Joey snickered and flipped through some more. There was one of Mokuba, wearing the goofy Toon Blue-Eyes hat, with a beaming smile as held his large Kuriboh prize. "Ah yeah, it was the kid's birthday. He's sure lookin' happy, huh."

"Yeah, it was nice seeing them outside of tournaments and us trying to save the world. I loved that day. We were all….normal."

"Heh. As normal as Kaiba can be, anyway." Joey snorted. "You didn't take any pictures o' him, didya?"

Yugi shook his head. "No, only just when he was dunking you."

"I wonder what those brothers are up to, anyway…"Joey wondered. "New duel disk is already out."

"Well," Yugi began, "I did promise Grandpa I would frame some of these pictures. Wanna help? Afterwards, we can venture over and pay the guys a visit."

Joey blinked. "uh, whut? You're gonna venture to Kaiba territory? Don't ya think he'll just throw us out? Ya know, release the dogs or something?"

Yugi laughed. "Nah. He wouldn't do that to us."

Joey knocked Yugi's shoulder. "Speak for yerself,…Joey Wheeler goin' to Kaiba's front door is like askin' a vampire to cross running water!"

* * *

Roland sat up in the security office of the mansion. His desk was scattered with various reports from the previous week. He sighed. There would have to be some changes to the scheduling in his security department. If he must devote more time to both being a temporary guardian for Mokuba at home, and a mentor for the office hours, it would help to have a back-up head for the security department. He opened one of the folders and started sorting through personnel files.

Every so often, he glanced up at the various monitors mounted along the walls. The screens before him showed different outdoor camera angles. The yards, entrance gate, etc. Everything seemed calm. Roland tapped his pen against the desk idly and soon swiveled the chair around to the wall behind him. The screens on this side showed the interior of the mansion. A few strokes on the keyboard and one of the monitors magnified the image. The camera was recording from the rec-room downstairs, where Mokuba was currently engaged in what looked like various video games. Several cases were sprawled about on the floor. Roland squinted, at the screen, curious to what the young master was playing. Something with…race cars? He shrugged, and with a few keyboard clicks, he switched to 'camera B', and watched Mokuba's face as he played his game. He seemed content enough for now. The camera angle switched back to it's original position, aiming towards the television, and Roland rolled the chair back to his desk and continued his work. He'd check back on Mokuba in a little while.

 _BZZZZZT_

 _Someone is at the gate?_ Roland asked himself, and glanced up to the appropriate screen. Who would come by here on a Saturday? The Kaiba Mansion was never a place that received many visitors. He zoomed in on the image, and recognized the young man in question as Yugi Muto. Normally, security would activate the intercom and inquire as to a visitor's intentions before opening the iron gates. Roland simply hit the switch for Yugi. He was a friend of Mokuba's after all, and by no means dangerous.

Roland left the office and moved to the front door to greet Yugi as he walked up the drive.

"Yugi Muto." He greeted simply, coming down a few steps as Yugi reached the bottom step.

"Uh, hi." Yugi said, nodding his head. He had a plastic grocery bag in one of his hands. "I was wondering if Kaiba was in?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Kaiba is not here." Roland answered, "But Mr. Mokuba is, if you'd like to speak to him, instead."

Yugi gave a small smile. "Sure." He followed Roland up and inside the mansion. He was never inside the Kaiba home before, and took in the large foyer.

"Mr. Mokuba is in the recreation room. Follow me." Roland started down the hall, with Yugi in tow. When they reached the doorway, Roland knocked on the doorframe to get Mokuba's attention.

"Pardon the interruption, Sir. Yugi Muto is here to see you."

Mokuba paused his game hearing Roland and turned in his spot on the floor. He gave Yugi a wave and beckoned him into the room. "Yugi! C'mon in!"

Roland then turned and headed back to the security room. He watched Mokuba and Yugi on the camera for a few moments, before returning to his work.

* * *

"So, what brings you here, Yugi?" Mokuba smiled, and grabbed some extra cushions off the couch for Yugi to sit on. "it's not often we get visitors here." He paused. "By 'not often', I mean 'never'."

Yugi laughed. "Knowing your big brother, that doesn't surprise me. I tried to get Joey to come along, but he was a big blonde chicken."

"Lame." Mokuba snickered.

"Anyway," Yugi began, and dug into the bag he brought with him. "I wanted to give you these." He took out a box containing a stack of photographs. "You remember, from your birthday?"

"yeah! Mine and Seto's day at Kaiba Land!" Mokuba beamed. "You all made it such a fun day." He said as he pulled out the photos and sifted through them. "Wow, you took a lot!"

Yugi nodded and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. These were some of the best ones that came out. Most of these are the originals. I really didn't have a need to keep them.

Mokuba stopped at the smiling image of him with his Blue-Eyes hat and Kuriboh prize. "Aw, thanks Yugi. These are great, and I bet Seto would love to have some of these to keep." He found the photo of Seto about to dunk Joey. "Especially this one!" Mokuba snickered.

Yugi laughed and reached into the bag, holding a disc. "It's not often I gift Kaiba with something at the expense of one of my best friends. This is the actual video."

Mokuba's eyes widened. "You, Yugi, are awesome."

"I know." Yugi smirked, then laughed it off. "Be sure to give these to your brother. Roland mentioned he wasn't here. Where is he? It's Saturday, after all. Is he really at HQ?"

Mokuba tilted his head, curious. "Is that what Roland said?"

Yugi shook his head. "Well, no. But where else would Seto Kaiba be if he isn't here at home, right?"

 _In another freaking-cosmic-universe?_ Mokuba thought to himself, but didn't say out loud. He tried to keep up his happy face while he came up with a suitable excuse for his brother's absence. Part of him didn't want to share the truth, that Seto left this world to find and duel Pharaoh Atem. After all, Yugi was never told about the true nature of the project Seto was working so diligently in space.

"Seto was called away on business. He flew out to America last night. That's…uh…why I had to leave your place so abruptly. He wanted to say goodbye before his flight left." Mokuba said, keeping his cool. He didn't like lying to Yugi, he was a terrible liar in general, and it was a surprise to himself how easily that answer came out of his mouth. Perhaps it was because, deep down, it was the lie he was telling himself, to keep his spirits high….

"Ah, I see." Yugi nodded. "Well, give him my regards when you hear from him next. He's a busy guy, I understand."

Mokuba nodded his head slowly, then glanced towards the TV. "Hey, you want to stay and hang out for a bit?" His voice went quiet as he glanced down at his lap. "With Seto gone, it's pretty lonely here. I could use some company."

Yugi watched Mokuba's expressions. _He looks…sad. I wonder what's wrong? I know this isn't the first time Kaiba's gone somewhere without his_ brother. _I probably shouldn't pry...if he wants to tell me, he will if and when he's ready._ _Well, I've got nothing else to do this afternoon._ "Sure, Mokuba. I'd love to stay."

"Awesome!" Mokuba perked up a little and moved over to the cubbies under the television. He pulled out a second controller and plugged it into the console. "I'm playing Mario Kart right now. We'll start a new game. You can be any character you want _except Toad_. I'm always Toadstool."

"Alright then!" Yugi said as he was handed his controlled. He grinned, and in his best 'Atem impression': "it's time…to race!"


	7. Shoes to Fill

Chapter 6: Shoes to Fill

In the past, there were only a few reasons why Mokuba would wish the school day would drag on as long as possible. Majority of those reasons revolved around events taking place after the final bell rang. Doctor's visits, dental check-ups, mandatory trips to the public library…. Those all pale in comparison to what Mokuba would have to deal with starting today, once Roland fetched him.

He let out a quiet sigh as he sat through his seventh period study hall, his math book and homework laid out before him. He wished he could just goof off for the last twenty minutes of his free period instead of cramming through as much homework as possible. Actually completing most of his homework at home would be a miserable prospect on any normal day, but not today. Not now. Not anymore. He picked up his pencil and continued his worksheets. Time was running out, and the bell would ring before he knew it.

His last period was gym. No lecture to distract him from his later activities. Mokuba was never the best at sports, but at least his name got him picked early on as the group of students was divvying up for teams. The chosen sport of the day, if one could truly call it 'sport', was something so ridiculous, the gym instructors must have made it up. They called it 'Rubber Chicken'. One floppy rubber chicken must get tossed about to teammates and reach a goal at the end of the field to score. Losing a coin toss, Mokuba's team had the unlucky honor to wear the mesh neon-orange gym jerseys. The physical activity did a good job distracting Mokuba from his inner thoughts. Before he knew it, the whistles were blown yet again, and he and his classmates were ushered back inside to change out of their uniforms back into their regular attire. Mokuba worked up a bit of a sweat and he wiped it away from his forehead. Hopefully Roland wouldn't object to a small detour back home so he could shower and change.

Mokuba took his time changing. He didn't feel like dealing with the mad rushes of crowds squeezing through the entrance doors to head home. And he still had to go to his locker and drop off some of his books.

Roland was waiting patiently outside the school gate, like any normal day. He got out and opened the back seat door of the private car for the boy as he climbed in.

"How was your day, sir?"

"Eh. It was ok." He sat his backpack down on the seat next to him and glanced towards the other side of the car. There was a garment bag hanging off the door hook. "Um…what's this?"

"Your suit, Mr. Mokuba."

"My…" Mokuba frowned, remembering the odd day his brother took him shopping to the mall to acquire it. At least Seto gave him free reign to pick out whatever he wanted… within reason, of course. Nothing too obnoxious, he did have to represent Kaiba Corp and look professional in his limited roles of leadership. He could recall Seto's reaction when he came out of the dressing room.

" _What the hell is that?" Seto Kaiba had remarked once his little brother stepped out of the dressing room with his selections on._

 _Mokuba just smiled as he turned around to look at himself in the full-length mirrors. "You said I could pick out whatever I wanted, Seto…"_

" _I meant something that matched."_

 _Mokuba smiled at his outfit. Dark purple slacks, lighter violet vest, pale pink button-down shirt and a blue tie draped over the shoulder of his white suit jacket. "What are you trying to say, Seto?" Mokuba asked, with innocence and amusement._

" _You are not wearing that before the Board."_

" _Why not? I think it looks dashing!" Mokuba snickered and held up the end of his tie. "You think they have a clip-on version in this color?"_

 _Seto Kaiba sighed and rubbed his temple. "Mokuba…"_

" _C'mon, Seto. I'm eleven. Everyone at HQ knows this. Do you think they'll care that I look colorfully sharp? They'll just be happy I decided to finally wear a tie in the first place. And besides. Our company president has donned some pretty crazy outfits in his day, too."_

 _Seto Kaiba raised his brow at that comment. "Like what?"_

 _Mokuba almost snorted. "Like…how about every flaring trench coat you've ever worn? Especially your white one? With all its buckles and belts. Don't get me wrong, big brother. It's an amazing look for you, especially when you're dueling! But in the—"_

" _I get the point." Seto interrupted with a huff. "You want to look like a walking grape? Fine. It's your embarrassment, not mine. Under one condition."_

 _Mokuba blinked. "yes?"_

 _Seto walked over and tugged on Mokuba's collar. "Lose the pink shirt. No member of this family will ever be seen wearing such a disgusting color."_

 _Mokuba grinned. "Deal."_

Mokuba sighed at the memory and glanced to regard Roland. "I have to wear a suit? I thought I was just gonna be sitting behind a desk all afternoon?"

"well sir," Roland began as the vehicle turned onto KaibaCorp property. "Mr. Kaiba did have meetings penned in this afternoon."

"Aww man!" Mokuba groaned. "I thought this was supposed to be easing me into all this. How am I supposed to sit through meetings with people I barely know?"

"I will remain by your side, Mr. Mokuba." Roland said, hoping to reassure the boy.

"Yeah, but…" Mokuba's voice trailed off as his cellphone rang. "Hello?" he paused, listening to the voice on the other end, and then sighing. "Oh….I'm sorry, Yugi. I forgot to tell you. I won't be able to come by today…or any day after school for this week. There's uh…a lot of stuff back at HQ that Seto wanted me to help take care of while he's away." There was another pause. "yeah, he's not sure when he's gonna be back yet. There's a lot for him to do in America…..Don't worry, Yugi. I'll let you know when he's on the way home…K. Talk to you later." He flicked his finger over the touch screen and ended the call.

Roland glanced at him through the rearview mirror as Mokuba hung up. "America, sir?"

"It's my cover story for Seto…for Yugi and his friends." Mokuba shrugged. "I don't really want them to know."

"Are they not your friends as well?" Roland took the keys out of the ignition and opened the back door for Mokuba.

"They are. But I don't really want to hear their reactions if I were to say 'Seto blasted off to another universe…or the afterlife, whatever, to duel a dead pharaoh in a card game.'" Mokuba exited the car and grabbed the garment bag along with his backpack. "Yugi might understand, but Joey and Tristan? Téa? I don't need their judging. Not right now. And besides. Seto will return before too long, and everything will sort itself out."

Roland took the garment from Mokuba and followed him, shaking his head. They reached the elevator and took it up to the top floor, to Seto's office. Mokuba paused, looking at the gold nameplate beside the double door.

 _S. Kaiba.  
President, Chief Executive Officer_

Mokuba sighed and opened the door. Everything was just as Seto left it before he originally rushed to the space station weeks ago to finish the pod. Everything was neat and organized. The stack of folders on the polished desk looked out of place. It wasn't like Seto to leave something unfinished. Mokuba watched Roland hang up the suit in the closet. A few of Seto's other suit pieces were hanging beside it.

"Do I have to do all of my work in here?" Mokuba asked.

"You are taking over for Mr. Kaiba, are you not?"

"Well…yeah, I guess so. But I'm not replacing my big brother. He's the president. I'm the vice-president. And most of that is just an honorary title. I helped Seto here and there, with formal and informal duties. But nothing like this." Mokuba looked around the room. "This isn't my sanctuary. This is Seto's. It will always be Seto's." He picked up the stack of folders. "I assume you put these here for me to work on?"

Roland nodded.

"Well, I'm gonna take them, to my office."

Roland blinked, and took a step forward. "Mr. Mokuba…you don't have an official office."

Mokuba tilted his head. "Kaiba Corp headquarters doesn't have a Vice President office?"

"It does…though it has never been used. Mr. Noah Kaiba was slated to become the Vice President during the time your stepfather, Gozaburo, was the majority shareholder and CEO." Roland led him into the hallway and gestured to a locked door off to the side. Mokuba had never paid any attention to it before it was just a single oak door closer to the secretary's station. There was no decoration or nameplate to signify it as a room of significance. "But the tragic accident took him from this world."

Mokuba nodded, slowly and walked over to the door in question. He jolted the door knob. "Roland, do you have the keys?"

"Most likely in the security office. One moment." Roland bowed slightly and walked down the corridor. In the meantime, Mokuba sat down, leaned against the wall and opened one of the folders, flipping through its contents. Graphs, charts, spreadsheets. He learned basics of reading such things in math class, but these were highly detailed, complex. Roland would have to explain these to him. He placed that file aside and opened another. Lots of text. Looked like some sort of proposal. He didn't feel like reading it now, so he tossed that one aside, too.

Roland had returned with the keys before Mokuba could look through another file. Mokuba watched as Roland It unlocked with a loud click, and it took a bit on Roland's part to push the door open. The door was stiff from lack of use, and it creaked loudly.

"First things first," Mokuba whispered. "We gotta fix that…" He gathered his papers and stood, peeking into the dark room. The only natural light came from the doorway, and the long windows on the other end of the room. Roland reached around and flicked on the lights, then gestured for Mokuba to enter.

The room smelled a bit musty. Despite hardly ever being used, the floor was dirty. The furniture that sat in the room was covered in sheets, and the white fabrics were all layered with dust. A room essentially forgotten, abandoned. Mokuba found this strange. Didn't Gozaburo have an acting VP? Where did he work?

"So…this is the VP spot." Mokuba said out loud, more to himself. The room was significantly smaller than his brother's office, but that didn't surprise him too much. Gozaburo Kaiba was the one who originally built this empire. He no doubt had a say in the interior design. It fit with his personality to ensure everyone knew he was the 'King of his corporate castle' by giving himself the best accommodations, and shorting everyone below him, including his second-in-command.

Mokuba walked over to one of the furniture pieces and lifted the cover. He expected to find a desk underneath, but instead was a side table. And under another was an old desk chair.

"I get the feeling this room was being used for random storage…" Mokuba sighed. "I guess we'll head back to Seto's office. The smell in here is going to give me a headache." He followed Roland out of the room and watched as the man closed and relocked the door. "Have someone come in and clean that room up. I'd like to use it as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir." Roland replied as they returned to Seto's office.

Mokuba opened the closet door and pulled out the garment bag. "I suppose I should change my clothes. How soon is the first meeting?"

Roland checked the time on his watch. "Thirty minutes."

"ugh. Well, might as well get this over with." Mokuba dragged himself into the private bathroom adjoining the office and closed the door behind him. He unzipped the bag and stared at the attire hidden within. The familiar shades of purple and white faced him, and he slowly pulled out each piece and began to redress. He looked at himself in the mirror. Everything still fit well. At least he hadn't grown much.

The face looking back at him seemed foreign. He wasn't used to dressing in such 'formal' attire. He only wore this suit on two other occasions; the trip to Egypt, when he was put in charge of the excavation, and the dueling exhibition Seto held at Kaiba Land to show off the new duel disks and duel for the pieces of the millennium puzzle. Positions of authority, Seto had said, require professional appearance. Mokuba shook his head. It sounded so hypocritical for Seto to say such things, especially when he still wore certain trench coats to the office. But then again, Seto Kaiba was the CEO. He made the rules, and could exempt himself from them if he wanted. Boss's privilege.

But Mokuba was the boss now. Seto had put him in charge, those were his last words. No…parting words. Mokuba could make his own rules. Perhaps the first thing he would establish for himself was his own dress code. The jeans, yellow puffer vest and striped T-shirt never seemed to bother anyone before. Neither did his blue bandana that he liked wearing around his neck. Mokuba huffed to himself. Tomorrow, he'd wear whatever he wanted.

Something was missing, he noted, as he reexamined himself. His tie. It wasn't on the hanger. Mokuba felt along the bottom of the garment bag and his fingers came across the silky fabric. He held it up and swallowed. He never figured out how to tie one of these properly. Seto always did it for him, the few times he had to put it on. "I guess…I better figure this out." He looked at himself in the mirror as he attempted to loop the fabric around. The result was a lopsided, disoriented mess. Mokuba ripped it off and tried again. Similar results. With a yell of frustration, he yanked the tie away and tossed it on the counter, defeated. _Dammit, Seto, why couldn't you let me have the clip-on like I asked? No twelve-year-old wears real ties…_ He blinked back tears as thoughts and feelings he buried deep in the recesses of his mind for days began to come to the surface. _No twelve-year-old should be acting president of a global corporation either… Oh Seto…why did you do this to me? I'm not ready for this. You always have a plan for everything. What was the plan this time? I can't do this on my own. I can't even figure out how to tie a tie! I need—_

He was jolted by a soft knocking on the door. "Mr. Mokuba, Sir. Are you alright?" Roland's voice came from the other side. "I heard a yell…"

 _Oh. The tie._ "I'm ok." Mokuba replied. He wiped away any tears left on his face, put on a neutral expression, and stepped out of the bathroom. _I can do this…_ _I hope._

Roland noticed the absent piece of clothing instantly. "No tie, sir?"

Mokuba sighed. "I…can't put it on." He grew quiet. "Seto…he always…"

Roland understood. He took a step into the bathroom and picked up the discarded tie. "Allow me, Sir." He knelt before Mokuba and gently tied it properly around the boy's neck.

Mokuba gave a small smile once Roland was back on his feet. "Thanks, Roland." The employee merely nodded in response. "So…maybe on the way home…you can do a favor for me?"

"Of course, Mr. Mokuba. What is it?"

He pointed to the silk now properly tied around his neck and smirked. "Find me a clip-on?"

* * *

To Mokuba's relief, the first meeting of the afternoon wasn't with the Board or department chairmen. He was surprised to see a familiar group of technicians enter the office. The same employees who were with Seto on the station working on the pod.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mokuba." Said Samson, the head scientist. Jefferson, the head technician entered soon after with his team.

Mokuba noticed the men were not entirely surprised to see him. Of course, why wouldn't they expect him? They knew Seto still hadn't returned yet. He took a seat in Seto's chair. It felt too large for his smaller frame, now that he sat as a figure of authority. "Um, hi everyone."

The team exchanged nervous glances to each other.

Mokuba continued. "I guess you guys have me at a disadvantage. Seto is the one who arranged this gathering, I'm not entirely sure what we are supposed to discuss."

Samson stepped forward and spoke nervously. "This was meant to be the follow-up to the launch test, Sir."

Mokuba blinked, and motioned for the men to take seats on the couch across from the desk. "Well, you'll have to fill me in on the details of what this 'test' was supposed to be. I want to know everything my brother expected of you. This was a project that he kept tight-lipped."

Samson and Jefferson exchanged glances.

Jefferson spoke up. "Mr. Kaiba told us only what was necessary. Our specific roles in relation to the dimension project. We were informed about the old virtual pod; instructed to reconstruct and reprogram the software. He had us analyze the quantum cube and synchronize its mysterious energy with the new pod."

Samson continued. "We were told to monitor the pods readings as long as we could after the jump. This gathering was to compare our readings with Mr. Kaiba's experiences….but…"

Mokuba finished his sentence. "But Seto hasn't come back yet."

Jefferson and Samson shook their heads.

"Have you been able to track the pod?" Mokuba asked.

"No, Sir." Samson replied. "Once Mr. Kaiba made the dimensional jump, all of the signals dropped."

Mokuba frowned. "Then your new focus will be to try and reestablish the server links with Seto's pod. I don't care how you do it. But explore every angle. Any option. Blow your budget if you must. But find my brother."

"How will we explain this to our superiors? The chairman?" Samson asked.

"Let me deal with them." Mokuba said. He glanced up as Roland walked into the office. "One more thing. I'm sure because of the nature of the project, my brother had you all sign the confidentiality affidavit?"

The men on the sofa nodded.

"Good. That still stands. I don't want word of Seto's true disappearance to leak. Who knows what the press would do, and we can't risk KaibaCorp's reputation. Not now, after Seto worked so hard to repair it."

* * *

"That went better than I thought." Mokuba sighed to Roland after the scientists left.

"I apologize for my absence." Roland replied. "There was a matter I had to attend to. I'm pleased you were able to maintain control."

"yeah…I only wish it could have been real practice for the chairmen when they come in next." Mokuba frowned and swiveled about in the chair. "I feel so small…like I don't belong here, in this room, giving orders like a boss. Like Seto. How am I supposed to deal with our company's chairmen? I know they aren't like the old board, like the Big Five…but I can still imagine they won't appreciate taking commands from a little kid."

"They will have to get used to it eventually, sooner rather than later. Regardless of the situation you have been forced into, you are still the Vice President of this corporation and are a figure of authority. It doesn't matter that you are still a youth. I am here for you, Sir, if they don't seem to take to your presence. The more you flex yourself as a commanding figure, the easier it will be dealing with them."

"I suppose you're right. At least sitting here in Seto's chair gives me a temporary confidence boost."

Roland winced. "Unfortunately, Mr. Kaiba never meets the Board in his own office. It's always the executive conference room down the hall."

"I'm not Seto though."

"No, but that is where they are expecting Mr. Kaiba today. And that's you."

Mokuba sighed and got up from the chair. "I suppose I should get this over with…" He trudged out of the office and down the corridor, to the other wing. He walked through sets of glass doors that separated both wings from the secretary station between them, and stopped outside the conference room.

"Roland leaned down slightly and spoke softly. "I'll be right behind you, Sir."

Mokuba swallowed, and opened the door. The room was already occupied by the Board, and he walked in, towards the seat at the head of the table. Seto's seat. As he sat down, he could feel the four sets of curious eyes staring down at him, waiting for the explanation as to why the company president was absent. Luckily for him, the chair was turned around to face the windows behind him. It gave him a few moments to collect himself. Sitting in a room full of corporate executives always ran a chill down his spine. Past dealings with the treacherous 'Big Five' have left a bitter impression on him, and even though this new group of executives were handpicked by Seto himself and underwent various background checks each, Mokuba still didn't trust them. It didn't help that aside from the initial hiring process, Mokuba hadn't dealt with these men much at all to get used to their personalities.

He swallowed, and swiveled the chair around to make eye contact briefly with each member of the Board. Four men now, instead of five. First, there was a middle-aged man, Garwin, who succeeded Gansley as the head of Business relations. Beside him was a stocky man, Crawford, the company's new chief of finance, after Crump. Across the table sat Ketashi, the tallest, and youngest of the group, as Johnson's replacement to the head of the legal division. Last was the lead technical advisor, Namori, talking over after Nesbitt. He was a lanky man with large black framed glasses and a face that always seemed unreadable. Luckily, by mere appearance they didn't seem to resemble their predecessors. Only time would tell how Mokuba would take to each man personally.

He was about to open his mouth to greet the executives but Roland beat him to it. The man had opened the file folder he was carrying and passed around paperwork to Mokuba and the Board, officially starting the meeting as he did so. While Roland held the floor, Mokuba admitted to himself that most of what Roland was saying was going right over his head. Business jargon was practically a foreign language. He kept his head up and staring in the direction of the white screen Roland was using to present his material.

As the meeting went on, Mokuba grew more fidgety in his chair. He knew it was only a matter of time before one of the members asked where his brother was. He was more surprised to not have the question brought up earlier. What would he say to them? The excuse that Seto was in America would have no holding here. Anyone could get in contact with the regional office and reveal that Seto wasn't there. Time was running out and he had to come up with something convincing, fast.

"…Mr. Mokuba?" said one of the men in the room. The sudden use of his name brought the boy from his thoughts.

"um, yes?"

"Did you hear me before, Sir?" It was Garwin who spoke. "We were wondering what has happened to Mr. Kaiba. We have been unable to contact him since he left for the space station weeks ago."

There it was. Now or never. Mokuba swallowed and glanced to the man briefly, acknowledging the query. Then he straightened in his seat to address the room. "As you know, my brother can get very dedicated to his work. Two weeks ago, he went aboard our KC space station to work on one of the old virtual reality pods he created years ago." _Not a total lie….but I better be careful…_ "He has been up there much of the time. But now, he decided it was time for him to take a short meditative leave to clear his head and refocus."

There was silence for a few moments. Roland raised a curious eyebrow, but luckily his dark glasses covered most of it. The businessmen didn't notice him anyway. They were too focused on their vice president.

"Seto Kaiba…..took a vacation?" Ketashi asked. Mokuba nodded in response, which made the man tilt his head, curious and a bit skeptical. "Without you, his younger brother?"

 _Damnit, can't you all just smile, nod, and move on to some other topic? I can't lie on the spot like this!_ Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck and let out a childish laugh. "He needed to be alone for a bit. I'm sure you all can understand. I may mean everything to my brother, but I'm only a kid. And sometimes, at home, I can be a bit of a brat." He gave an innocent smile, hoping it was enough to convince these corporate suits that nothing out of the ordinary was really going on.

"When will Mr. Kaiba be returning to work?" Crawford asked.

Mokuba shrugged slightly. "A week or two probably. Probably sooner." _It BETTER be sooner, Seto._ "in the meantime, I'm gonna be filling in for him as much as I can. And Roland, too."

"You? But Sir…." Garwin began, "you can't possibly take on that responsibility. You're a mere schoolboy."

And there it was. Age argument. Mokuba sighed loudly. "Look, you guys. You don't have to remind me, ok? I know I'm just a kid. But I've been helping Seto before with plenty of official business in the past. I'm sure I can manage, with Roland's help of course. This will be a whole lot easier if we can all work together. It'll be just as if Seto never left. Business as usual, except I'm a heck of a lot cuter to look at." He grinned, hoping to keep the ice broken and the men at ease.

He watched the men murmur amongst themselves at the news dropped before them. He didn't stick around afterwards to answer any more questions. Mokuba quickly strode out of the conference room and back to Seto's office, where he collapsed down on the couch.

"Oh. My. Gosh."

He heard the door close. Roland must have followed him in.

"How do you think it went, Roland?" he asked, not bothering to sit up.

Roland made his way to the desk and leaned back against it, looking at the youth laying down. "Well it certainly could have gone worse. They took the news better than I anticipated. Which brings up…" he paused. "Why did you tell them Mr. Kaiba was on vacation? You told Yugi Muto he was in America."

"Because all they would have to do is call and discover he wasn't really there. That would lead to more awkward conversation."

"Aren't you worried about catching yourself in this lie of yours? What if they eventually discover Mr. Kaiba's true absence?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Honestly? Roland, I'm just making this up as I go along. I don't have a plan. All I've got is constant, annoying, desperate hope that Seto comes back before anyone figures out the truth." _And before I go nuts…_

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't make up that 'Rubber Chicken' sport by the way. That was a legit game we played in my high school gym periods when bad weather meant we couldn't partake in our legit sports outside.**


	8. Suspicion

**A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or The Julliard Fine Arts Conservatory.**

Chapter 7: Suspicion

"Yugi, have you finished cleaning up? It's almost time for your call with your friends." Grandpa called from the bottom of the stairs. "You don't want to be late."

Yugi poked his head out of the kitchen. "I know, Grandpa. I'm almost done here." He moved back to the sink and hurried to finish drying off the breakfast dishes. It became ritual that every Sunday morning Yugi and his friends would have a four-way video call with Téa. They first made the mistake of calling in the afternoon on a Saturday, only to find her so groggy she could barely stay awake. They never considered the eleven-hour time difference from Domino to New York City.

With the last plate dried and placed neatly in the cabinet, Yugi dashed up to his room and closed the door. Joey and Tristan tended to be loud on call, and he didn't want to disturb Grandpa.

He opened the lid of his laptop and started up the Skype program. No one was online yet. _I guess I didn't have to rush after all._ Yugi turned on the notifications volume and stepped away from his desk for a moment to make his bed.

 _Ping!_

"Ah, someone's here!" Yugi smiled and glanced at the screen.

 _GodfathaOGames is now online!_

Immediately, Yugi clicked on the link and activated the call, making him the host.

"Yug'!"

"Hey Joey! Good morning!"

"Same to you, pal. Where is everyone? I'm usually the last one to get my ass online."

Yugi chuckled, knowing too well Joey's habit of oversleeping. "I know. That's ok. They'll be here soon. So how are you, Joey? Haven't seen you much aside from these calls. Everything ok?"

Joey nodded. "yeah, jus' my dad, y'know? He's puttin' pressure on me."

"Nothing bad, I hope. Joey, you know you're always welcome to stay here for a while if he's getting too abusive."

"nah, it's not like that. Well…not really. It's about work. It's always about work. He's too much of a drunk-ass-loser to sober up and actually provide."

 _Ah, money._ Yugi thought to himself. _It's about Joey and his job…or lack-thereof._ Yugi gave a weak, encouraging smile. "You still working at the mall? The ice cream place?"

"Yeah…but they upped my hours! I get eight now instead of jus' two!"

"Wow! That's awesome!" _But still terrible…_ "How did you manage?"

Joey half shrugged and scratched his head. "Well, the girl who wears the kitty costume quit. So now I'm a full…day…dog." He sighed. Of all the animal costumes available, his clown boss made him a mutt. It felt like his high school days all over again, when Duke humiliated him on TV; or anytime Kaiba opened his mouth and insulted him.

Yugi could read his best friend's expression. "No other animals to switch off to?"

"Nah. Once you start sweating like a pig in there…it's yours."

 _Ping!_

 _SpeedRacerT is now online!_

 _SpeedRacerT is joining the call._

"Hey guys!"

"Hey T'!" Joey waved into the screen. "How's it goin'?"

"Pretty good. Hey there, Yugi! How are you all?"

"Doing well." Yugi smiled. He picked up his computer and moved to sit on the bed where he would be more comfortable.

"I guess we're just waiting for Téa now." Tristan said, glancing at the screen where the friends list was off to the side of their video call.

"She mentioned to me big news." Joey said, leaning back in his chair. "She sent me a text message yesterday."

"I wonder what it is…" Tristan said, tapping his chin.

 _Ping!_

 _DreamDancer is now online!_

 _DreamDancer is joining the call._

"Hi guys!"

"Téa!" They all cheered in unison.

"It's good to see you all. Especially you, Tristan. You didn't join us last week."

"Yeah, my parents took me to Tokyo for the weekend."

"So, hows deh Big Apple treatin' ya?" Joey asked.

Téa couldn't help but grin. "Oh…my…gosh… you guys. This city puts Domino….even Tokyo to shame. There is so much crammed into this city…so many people. This place has everything. And truthfully, even that seems like an understatement. I can see why so many people want to live here."

"Have you made any new friends?" Yugi asked. "I remember you telling us a few times how lonely you were when you first moved there."

Téa shrugged a bit and ran a hand through her hair. It had grown a bit longer since she left the gang earlier that summer. "A few girls from my ballet class are really nice. We've gone out for lunch a few times. But it's not the same. We don't share a bond or anything like I do you guys," she said softly, holding up her hand to emphasize the friendship pact that used to be drawn there. She smiled and tilted her head, looking at her friends. "So, what about you all? How are things in Domino?'

Tristan shrugged. "Oh you know, same ol' same ol'. Things have been pretty quiet here."

"Really? Nothing new of interest?"

"Grandpa's shop is getting a boost." Yugi said. "Industrial Illusions released the new wave of Duel Monster packs and figurines, so we've been getting a lot of kids coming in."

"That's awesome!" Téa exclaimed.

Yugi smiled. "Grandpa said the other week if it continues well for the rest of the month, we may be able to hire someone part time to help out!"

Joey perked up at this. "Wait, what? Yug, you holdin' out on me? Why didn't you mention this before? You know I've been lookin' for a job!"

Yugi held his hands up defensively. "We didn't want to get your hopes up incase foot traffic dropped off too soon.

"…I guess that makes sense…"

"What about you, Téa? Surely New York has more interesting news."

"Oh there's always too much in New York to try and keep track of. But I do have some big news…"

"Oh! You mean what you were texting me about?" Joey asked.

Téa nodded. "Okay, so Julliard dance program puts on two big productions each year. One for Christmas and the other in the spring before the semester ends. And they announced a few weeks ago what that winter program will be." She paused to let the momentary suspense sink in. "It's usually always a ballet, and this year it's the _Nutcracker_!

Yugi's eyes widened. "That's awesome!"

"Eh….the what?" Joey blinked. Tristan gave a similar blank look.

Téa facepalmed. "You two need some culture. The _Nutcracker_ is only one of the most known ballet dances ever composed. It's one of Tchaikovsky's most famous pieces!"

Yugi couldn't contain his excitement. "Are you going to audition?"

Téa smiled. "Well, being part of the dance program means mandatory participation. Everyone has to do a short individual presentation with a pre-selected passage, and the ones who score the highest get the best roles in the ballet."

"When was the audition?" Tristan asked.

"Two weeks ago. The parts have already been cast."

"Didya get the lead?" Joey asked.

Téa shook her head. "No, while its all based on talent, the directors do try to get the senior class members into the best parts if they can. A young girl from one of Julliard's adjoining ballet programs will play young Clara, and a senior is playing older Clara. I don't remember her name. My rehearsals aren't with her much. But…I do get to play an ensemble member in act one, and I'm one of the Spanish dancers for act two!"

"That's great!"

"Spanish?" Joey cocked an eyebrow. "You don' know how to speak Spanish."

Yugi groaned. "She means it's a style of dance, not something she has to speak out."

"oooh."

Tristan rubbed his hands together. "So, when's this big performance? I want to see my best friend on stage!"

"Yeah, me too!"

Téa glanced at the calendar next to her computer. "It's a weekend of performances, since the Christmas program is so popular. December 20-22nd. After that, we break for the holiday. You guys should totally come!"

"Grandpa and I would love to come. I couldn't miss seeing you perform on stage!"

Joey snickered. "Maybe we can get Kaiba to fly us all out for the week on his private jet!"

"Kaiba?" Téa blinked. "Why would he go for that?"

Joey put on a wild grin. "'Cuz it would mean seven days of not being bugged by the likes of us!"

Tristan laughed. "Good one, Joey."

Téa rolled her eyes. "Or, you know…you can just ask Mokuba nicely. From the emails that you've sent me, it sounds like he's practically one of the gang. He…and Kaiba, too, I suppose, are welcome to see the show also" She spoke, clearly teasing. "You're not replacing me with Mokuba, are you?"

"What? NO!" Yugi said, defensively.

Téa broke into laughter. "Relax, I'm kidding. Speaking of Mokuba, though, how is he? And Kaiba?"

Joey shrugged. "Eh, who cares about Rich boy. He's too absorbed in his computers. Mokuba's cool though. He hangs out with us after school."

"Well, he used to, anyway." Tristan said, sadly. "He doesn't seem to come by the game shop anymore."

 _I guess Mokuba never told them._ Yugi thought to himself before finally revealing, "Mokuba's been going to Kaiba Corp after school every day. He said Kaiba was on a business trip in America."

"He never told us…how long ago was that?" Tristan asked.

Yugi thought for a moment. "Ever since Roland picked him up from the game shop that afternoon."

Joey stated counting on his fingers. "What…Yug'..that was over three weeks ago!"

Téa looked concerned. "That's a long time to be away from his brother. How is he?"

"Mokuba?" Yugi asked. "He's doing ok, I guess. I haven't seen him much. Whatever is going on at KC headquarters, it's keeping him pretty busy."

"Poor guy."

Tristan had an idea. "Hey, Téa. Didn't Rich Boy open another corporate building in NYC earlier this year? Maybe you can pay him a visit? Maybe a familiar face will prompt him to come back to his little bro."

Joey snorted. "Like Kaiba would want to see her anyway."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Téa asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Kaiba doesn't like you." Joey clarified. "That punk doesn't like anyone except his kid brother."

Téa huffed. "I know that, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to see someone he knows. It's not like I'm going to give him a speech or anything. Just a visit to say 'hi'. And frankly, even with his 'glowing' personality, I wouldn't mind seeing a familiar face."

There was a voice calling in the background. Tristan turned his head away from the camera, then addressed his friends. "It looks like I've gotta go. Mom needs my help. 'Good seeing you guys! Until next week!"

"Cya, Tristan!"

"Later, T'!"

The faces on the screens shifted as one block fizzled out.

 _SpeedRacerT has left the call._

 _SpeedracerT is offline._

Téa turned to to Joey's face. "So, tell me, Joey. How's the dueling circuit coming?"

Joey shrugged. "Eh, actually I haven't had a lotta time to work on my duelin'. I was tellin' Yug' before everyone else came online. Things with my dad aren't the greatest. They upped my hours at the mall, but it's still crap. I'm tryin' to focus on one thing atta time. If I can get a betta' job, I can move away from my dad. Then even get the new Duel Disk, and focus on that kind of career. I've gotta focus on one thing at a time, make goals for myself."

"Wow, Joey. It really sounds like you put a lot of thought into this!"

Yugi chuckled. "Grandpa may have knocked some sense into him, too."

"Someone has to." Téa smiled.

"But I gotta think positive about it all. The sooner I can improve myself, the sooner I can be the world's newest Duel Monsta's champion! I'm gonna make a name for myself in the duelin' world. Kaiba, Yugi, they're undisputed champions. I'm always the contender, in the shadows." He pumped a fist into the air. "Soon, I'm gonna be numba' one!"

Téa gave a thumbs up. "That's the spirit, Joey. And we'll all be right there by your side to support you."

* * *

Téa left her ballet rehearsal that Friday afternoon feeling a bit nervous. She wasn't entirely sure why she was being so apprehensive. Perhaps it was because it took her all week to work up the courage to walk into the NYC offices of KaibaCorp. The rational part of her tried to keep in mind that the chances of Seto Kaiba agreeing to see her would be slim, and so the visit would end up being a short tour of the lobby.

The walk from the Lincoln Center to the KaibaCorp headquarters was not too long, and traffic flow was on her side. She made it to the structure in good time. At least this skyscraper was far less intimidating than the ones in California and Domino City.

 _Well, here goes nothing. Please be in a good mood, Kaiba._ She opened the heavy glass doors and looked around. Several black suits walked across the lobby to several elevators off to the side. In the center of the lobby sat a circular reception station. She walked over to a young man typing away at the computer. There was a headset over one ear. He didn't acknowledge her presence.

Téa cleared her throat. "Um, hi?"

The man looked up. The ID tag clipped to his suit jacket fell into view. Dan Stuart. "May I help you?" he asked, dryly.

She bit her lip. "I hope so. I'm here to see Seto Kaiba."

Dan Stuart gave her a confused look.

"….What?" She asked.

"Ma'am, that's impossible."

"Why?" She leaned into the counter. "Do I have to give a name? Make an appointment? I'm Téa Gardner. If today is an issue I can come back…."

Dan interrupted her. "Mr. Kaiba is not on the premises." He leaned back in his chair. "This is not KaibaCorp's main headquarters. Unless traveling, he is centrally located in Domino City, Japan."

She let out a small huff. "I _know_ that, I'm from Domino myself. But I was told he was here in America."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Well he isn't here in New York, Miss Gardner. Have a nice day." He turned back to his computer screen.

 _What a personality._ Téa sighed. But, she didn't give up yet. "Well, if he isn't here, what about in California? He has a regional office there, too."

"How should I know?"

Téa tapped her fingers against the counter, trying to stifle her irritation at the man's rudeness. _He's your boss. Don't you all keep tabs when your corporate head-honcho is in the country?!_ "Can you at least give me the number to the California headquarters?"

* * *

The sound of his ringtone stirred Yugi out of his sleep. He never was a super heavy sleeper. He glanced at the clock on the edge of his desk. 6:42am. _Who is calling at this hour?_ He reached over to his phone before the call switched to his voicemail. _Wait…Téa is calling?_

He immediately sat up and swiped his finger across the screen to accept the call. "Hi Téa."

"Yugi!" She exclaimed, then paused. "Oh….I woke you up, didn't I?"

"A little. It's 6-something in the morning. What's going on?" He asked. "Not that I'm not happy to hear from you."

"I'm sorry to wake you…" her voice seemed a little…stressed. "But I'm a bit worried."

 _Worried?_ "Talk to me, Téa."

"Well…is Mokuba okay?"

Yugi blinked, confused. What does Mokuba have to do with anything? "Yes…..why?"

"What about Kaiba? Is he back in Domino?"

"No. Téa…I'm so confused."

"Yugi….remember days ago on our call I was going to visit Kaiba?"

Some of it was becoming a bit clearer now. Yugi had completely forgotten about that topic of their group call. "Ah, so you went to the KC spot in New York?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "His receptionist shares Kaiba's shining personality. But that's not the point. Yugi, Kaiba's not here."

"Well he's an important guy. Doesn't he have other places in America?"

"Tha's just it, Yugi. He's _not in_ _America_. I called the California headquarters, too. I thought maybe I could just talk to him on the phone, granted he wouldn't hang up on me, so I could talk about Mokuba. He's not there either."

"Is he mid-travel?"

Téa shook her head, her voice sounded like it was on the verge of wavering. "When I called to California, I spoke to one of their regional heads. After a lot of manipulative begging, I got him to look up Kaiba's last known corporate check-in." She paused. "The last time his corporate ID was used was in the space station on September 7th.

"Wait, September 7th?" Yugi's eyes widened. "He hasn't checked in since..." Yugi trailed off. _But…Mokuba said Kaiba left on September 14_ _th_ _. Why would he lie?_ "Don't worry, Téa. I'll get to the bottom of this. Thanks for letting me know."

"Sure, Yugi. I just thought you should know…I only just found out myself. Again, I'm sorry for waking you. I'll…let you go so you can try to get some more rest."

"Take care, Téa. Bye." Yugi swiped the call closed, and slumped back against his pillow.

 _What's going on, Mokuba? If you're having problems, I wish you could just come to me. You did once before…when Kaiba was trapped in his own game. You trusted me, us, then…why not now?_

Yugi glanced up at the ceiling. He wasn't sure he would even be able to fall back to sleep. _Whatever has been happening, he must be afraid to confide. But why? Is he embarrassed? Is Kaiba in some sort of trouble? I'm sorry, Mokuba, but you're going to have to tell me everything…._


	9. School Stress

**A/N: We're back to Mokuba for this chapter. I know last chapter had a different focus, and that's because it didn't seem right for Yugi finding out Mokuba's story is a lie to be a flashback. There might be a future chapter here and there with the focus more on the gang vs Mokuba all the time. It'll just depend on what's going on. Overall, though, things are going to start unraveling for our favorite Kaiba-kid from here on out.**

Chapter 8: School Stress

Mokuba dragged himself through the Kaiba manor once he and Roland returned from Kaiba Corp that evening. Mokuba had spent most of his time after school in the research lab with Jefferson trying to find a connection to Seto's dimensional pod. The consistent lack of results was giving him a headache. With a yawn, he bid goodnight to Roland, and went upstairs to his room.

As soon as the door closed, he dived onto his bed and groaned. "How did Seto manage this? This is impossible for any sane, normal person…" he blinked, "or for any normal twelve-year-old." He frowned, and rolled onto his pillow. This was his second full week of going to Headquarters after school, and he was already tired of it. "Seto is nuts for keeping that kind of schedule. I don't care how smart he is."

After a short while of staring up at the ceiling, Mokuba decided it was time for bed. He showered, brushed his teeth, and pulled on his pajamas. It wasn't until he got a sideways glance at his desk that his exhaustion immediately disappeared and he snapped himself wide awake. Laying open was his homework planner, and there was his familiar, sarcastic scribble under tomorrow's date.

 _Friday October 5_

 _American President reports due. PRESENATION DAY! (NOOOOOO)_

"Oh no!" Mokuba panicked. He had hardly worked on his presentation, or his report. It was only due in about twelve hours. "if Seto were here he would be killing me right now!" Mokuba threw on his slippers and robe, and ran downstairs with his notebook to Seto's office. "It looks like I'm gonna pull a 'big-bro-all-nighter'…"

* * *

It was a struggle for Mokuba to stay alert and not nod off during his World History class. His seat was towards the front of the of the class, so it would be all too clear for his instructor, Mr. Namori, to notice him falling asleep. Thankfully for him, he volunteered to go first once it came time to the presentations. Better to get his over with early, than have to listen to his classmates and hope his own could measure up in comparison.

Mokuba felt relief when the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. It helped snap him back to reality. As he gathered his belongings to head to the next class, Mr. Namori waved him over.

"Yes, sir?" Mokuba asked.

"Considering you nearly knocked your head into your desk twice during my class, you did fairly well during your presentation."

Mokuba rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I..um…thanks. I'm sorry for that though…I didn't sleep well."

"Everything alright?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah, you know. Bad dreams. I suppose I was a bit nervous about the presentation today." He lied. Mokuba knew he had no trouble speaking before crowds. He was tournament commissioner for two official KaibaCorp events, and a spokesman for the Kaiba Land theme parks. Although…knowing his public presentation would be receiving a grade did give the boy a tad of anxiety. Certainly not enough to keep him awake, though.

"Well," Namori answered, "I hope come Monday you will go to bed a bit earlier, and be fully rested. It doesn't look good to your fellow classmates when they are standing before you, presenting, and they can see you snoozing. Not only is it distracting for them, but it will hurt their confidence if they believe their presentations and hard work are nothing but a bore. Do you understand?"

Mokuba nodded.

"Very good. Now run along before you're late to next period."

Mokuba darted out of the room without another word. He had just enough time to slip into his literature class before the final bell rang. He answered as Mrs. Elkridge called out the roll-call.

"Alright, class. Take out your homework assignments and leave them face up on your desk. It's Friday, which means another reading comprehension quiz." She ignored the collective groans coming from the students as she passed around the reading quizzes.

Mokuba sighed as he glanced at the questions on the quiz. He did do the reading….in homeroom that morning. His written homework was only partially complete. Shame and embarrassment swept over him as he tried to fill in the answers to the quiz, knowing his teacher was closing in on his desk.

"Mokuba."

He glanced up to see her standing over his shoulder. "yes, ma'am?"

She placed a sheet of paper back down on his desk beside his quiz. It was last week's quiz. Circled in red ink was the number '68'. "Not your best work, young man." Mrs. Elkridge said quietly.

"…I'm sorry." Mokuba could only mumble in response. He didn't dare look back towards her while she examined his homework assignment. A few more seconds felt like an eternity while she stood there, until she moved on to the next student. He let out a quiet sigh of relief. Once the reading quizzes were passed forward, she proceeded with the regular lesson of the day.

The rest of Mokuba's day went smoothly, to the point where he had forgotten about the stress of his earlier classes. At the final ringing bell, he vacated his last class and stopped at his locker to unload his backpack.

 _Let's see… it's Friday, so at least I don't have to go in to headquarters after school. And I think Roland said we were gonna meet with…_

"Excuse me, Mokuba?" said a woman's voice behind him. Mokuba turned to see Mrs. Elkridge.

 _Why is she here?_ He wondered. "Um, yes?"

"May I speak with you a moment?" She gestured to an empty classroom. "I know you get rides to and from school, I promise we won't keep your driver waiting for too long."

"Okay…" Mokuba said nervously. He closed his locker and followed his literature teacher into the room and took a seat at the nearest desk.

Mrs. Elkridge paced in front of him for a moment, as if trying to collect her thoughts. Mokuba was a kind and mellow child, but he still bore the Kaiba name, and everyone in Domino knew of the influences of his older brother. The last thing she would want would be her words to come across the wrong way and the news to come back to Mr. Kaiba.

"Mokuba…" she began, and stopped to lean against the instructor's table in front of him. "Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" Mokuba asked, taken off guard. "Yeah….?" He realized as soon as he finished responding that his tone was not at all convincing.

She sighed, and softened her tone. "I'm serious, Mokuba. Is everything alright? Are you having problems here at school? Any troubles with classmates…subjects?" She paused. "I've noticed over the last few weeks the quality of your work has dropped significantly. I'm worried about you." She asked again, "Is something here at school bothering you?"

Mokuba shook his head. "No." It wasn't a lie, but for some reason, it still felt wrong saying so.

'What about at home? Are you stressed about something? Its ok if you need an outlet to talk about it. We want to help. Don't be afraid to speak up if something is wrong."

Mokuba was shifting in his seat now, but he didn't want to give away that that was a main part of the problem. _Yeah, there's crap at home, but there isn't anything you can do about it._ "Yeah…I guess I've just been pretty busy at home." He rubbed the back of his head, nervously. _Please don't make me elaborate…_

Mrs. Elkridge nodded slowly and reached into her suit pocket, pulling out a folded slip of paper and holding it out to him. "As I'm sure you are aware, the next two weeks after classes are parent-teacher conferences. I've written my available appointment times on that form. Give it to your brother…he _is_ your legal guardian, yes? I want it returned to me Monday morning with it signed from him what time he can meet me."

Mokuba really didn't like where this was headed. He took the paper and glanced at it. "B-but my brother is really busy. What if he can't make any of these times?" _Maybe she'll just forget about it…_

"Then he can give me a call and we can discuss this." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Mokuba. But as a teacher and mentor, I find it necessary to talk with him about your performance in class. He needs to be made aware, from an unbiased source. An—" She was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. Mokuba's face turned pink in embarrassment. "…Is that your driver?" She asked.

Mokuba nodded.

"Very well. You may go. Just be sure to bring me that slip, Monday. Have a good weekend, Mokuba." She replied, waving him off.

Mokuba frowned as he left the classroom and peeked at his phone. Sure enough, it was a missed call, with Roland's name. He sent a quick message to the man and made another stop to his locker to finish switching out his subjects. Then he broke into a run towards the front of the school, eager to go home.

He found relief in the familiar black car waiting along the curb. He could see Roland sitting in the driver's seat reading the newspaper, so he didn't bother to wait for him to get out of the car.

"Hi Roland." Mokuba said as he climbed into the back seat. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"It was no issue, Mr. Mokuba." Roland said, as he folded the newspaper up and placed it on the passenger seat. "How was school today?"

Mokuba let out a groaned huff and looked out the window as Roland started up the car. "It was ok." He mumbled.

Roland raised a brow and glanced at his charge through the rearview mirror. "I know that voice, Mr. Mokuba, and it betrays you." He moved his eyes back to the road.

Mokuba frowned. How would he explain this to Roland? He was in big trouble now. "I had to meet with my Literature teacher after classes. That's why I was late to the car…"

"That doesn't sound…. pleasant."

"She gave me a slip that needs signed and brought back Monday morning…"

"Aaah…" Roland nodded, turning the steering wheel. "Class trip? Permission form?"

"…. yeah, somethin' like that." Mokuba mumbled and unfolded the paper, looking at it. _I don't know how this is going to work…I can't make Seto suddenly appear and go to one of these conferences._ "Any news from the labs? About…. about Seto?"

"I'm afraid not, sir."

Mokuba sighed. Once the car stopped at the front steps of the Kaiba manor, Mokuba jumped out and bolted inside, leaving a perplexed Roland watching from the car.

An idea struck Mokuba as he was driven home, but would be tricky. As soon as he got inside, he kicked off his shoes and bolted into Seto's study. _There's got to be something here I can use…_. At the desk, he started opening drawers, searching for anything Seto might have scribbled on.

Roland had now made it inside and watched Mokuba shuffle through his brother's belongings. _What on…_ "…Sir? What are you doing?"

Mokuba found some old blueprints with some handwritten side-notation and set it down on the desk's surface, beside a blank sheet of paper. He then sat down, grabbed a pen, and started writing slowly.

Roland walked further into the room to get a better look. Mokuba was studying his brother's notes…and imitating them? He watched for a few more seconds, and then his eyes went wide. He took wide strides to the desk and snatched the papers away from Mokuba. "Mr. Mokuba! NO!"

"Hey! Give those back!"

"I will not stand here and watch you try to forge your brother's hand." Roland crossed his arms, the papers still clenched in one hand.

"But how else is Seto supposed to sign my form?" Mokuba whined. He pulled out the conference form and showed it to Roland. With a sigh, he told Roland the truth. "Mrs. Elkridge demands to see Seto for a parent teacher conference."

Roland frowned. "And you believe by forging his signature on that form, it will solve your problem?"

"NO…but it could buy some time for him to get his stinker butt back here!" Mokuba pleaded. "And—"

"And then what? The issue won't go away, sir." Roland responded. "I will NOT allow you to continue lying to everyone about your brother's situation. This. Stops. NOW." He slammed a palm down on the desk for emphasis.

Roland was angry, and it was showing on his face. It wasn't a side that was shown often. Mokuba blinked and looked up at Roland with a mixture of fear, confusion and apprehension. "What…what are you gonna do?"

* * *

"Your form, Mrs. Elkridge." Mokuba said quietly as he popped into his teacher's classroom after school Monday.

She gave a small smile and took the form, looking at the time selected. It was for this Wednesday, two hours after school ends. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the signature. The hand was unfamiliar, and while she had never seen Seto Kaiba's signature in person, she could easily see that the name was not a belonging to a Kaiba.

"Mokuba, who signed this?"

Mokuba swallowed. "Roland Thompson. He's looking after me."

"I thought your brother Seto was your legal guardian?"

Mokuba nodded. "He is…but…" _Sorry Roland. This is the last one, I swear._ "…he was called away to America on business. I couldn't come along, so Roland is taking care of me." It wasn't a new lie, since it was the one he told Yugi. It didn't lessen the guilty feeling for saying it in the first place, but at least it wasn't a brand-new lie to keep track of.

"But who is this 'Roland'?" She asked, folding her hands on the desk.

"He works for my brother. He's his top business advisor, and head of security." Mokuba rubbed his neck, nervously. "He also helped raise me when my brother and I were growing up. He's offered to meet you on Seto's behalf."

"How long will your brother be away?"

"A couple of weeks." Mokuba shrugged. "is…it ok, that Roland comes instead of Seto?"

She held up her hands in defeat. "I suppose I don't have much choice. But I would still like to speak to your brother upon his return."

Mokuba reluctantly nodded, and retreated out of the room before she could ask anymore awkward questions. _Yeah…whenever that happens to be. Or, IF he ever comes back…_


	10. The Truth

Chapter 9: The Truth

Mokuba had a sick feeling in his stomach Wednesday when Fugata picked him up from school. It wasn't from being physically ill, but of knowing that in just under an hour Roland would be headed over to his school to speak with Mrs. Elkridge. It wasn't exactly the fact that his teacher would inform Roland of his slipping grades. That much was obvious. He was more frightened of what _Roland_ would say to her…about Seto, about anything, really. Mokuba forgot to tell Roland what he told Mrs. Elkridge about Seto when he was dropped off at school that morning. There was a good chance his cover would be blown. That fear put his stomach into knots.

Wednesday was one of Roland's heavy administrative days, even moreso now, doubling his duties in security with handling some of Seto Kaiba's executive workload, and so when Mokuba arrived at Kaiba Corp, he wouldn't even see his temporary guardian until he was heading for the elevator.

Mokuba was sitting in his new workspace. The room had been cleaned up and scrubbed down to remove any trace of the dust and dirt that it stored for the last several years. It was still void of any real furniture, apart from a few large beanbag chairs that Mokuba brought from home, and a small side-table that was originally stored in the room under a sheet. It would later leave once the real furniture arrived, but for now, it would suffice. Mokuba's backpack was leaning against his bean chair, as he was finishing up the remaining homework for the day.

He was brought out of his concentration by the knocking on the doorframe. "Mr. Mokuba." It was Roland.

"Yes?"

"I'll be heading off to the conference now. I brought your tablet," he said, placing Mokuba's portable computer on the side table. "It finished charging. Also, these catalogs arrived for you, sir. For your office."

Mokuba took the books and nodded. "Thanks, Roland. Are you coming back here after school? Or is Fugata going to drive me home?"

"I don't imagine this meeting taking very long, sir." Roland replied. "I will return here, and finish my admin. duties with the remaining time."

"Okay. Well, bye, Roland. Good luck." Mokuba waved him off as he turned back to his homework. Though, the longer time went on, the harder it was becoming for Mokuba to concentrate. Frustrated, he tossed his homework aside and pulled over some of the catalogs Roland brought.

Then there was a knock at the doorframe.

"Mokuba?"

The boy glanced to the doorway and his eyes widened. "Yugi! Hi! Uh, C'mon in!"

"Thanks." Yugi smiled and happened to glance at the wall just outside the door. There was a piece of paper taped to the wall. Yugi plucked it off and showed it to him. 'Mokuba's lair!'?"

Mokuba laughed, a bit embarrassed. "I don't have a name plaque on the wall yet, so the secretary made me one."

Yugi smirked and placed it back on the wall where he found it, then came inside the room. "What is all this?" He asked, sitting down in an empty bean bag chair.

"This?" Mokuba asked. "This is my lair! Well…office. Well…it will be, once it's finished." Mokuba stammered.

"You get an office? That's cool!" Yugi smiled, but it was forced. He wasn't exactly sure how to go about getting information from Mokuba, so he waited. Maybe conversation would naturally give him the opening he needed.

"Yeah." Mokuba shrugged. "Seto's is so….stiff. And besides, I'm gonna be VP proper one day, it's about time I find my own space. At least this way, I don't have to cling to my brother after school while I do my homework here." Mokuba tried to keep his voice and composure as natural as possible. Then, an idea struck. "Say, wanna help me design this place?"

"Huh?" Yugi asked.

Mokuba smiled and pointed to the catalog in his lap. "I'm trying to plan out the room. I mean look around, Yugi. There's nothing in here. It's not like these bean bag chairs are going to be permanent fixtures. I'm gonna need more professional stuff eventually. Besides, I doubt the Board or any serious employee would want to sit in these….or on the floor."

"I suppose you're right."

Mokuba handed Yugi another catalog. Perhaps this was just the distraction he needed.

"So, what kind of motif are you going for?" Yugi asked as he flipped through the pages. "Is there a color scheme you want?"

"Yeah, not the greyish green ick that Seto has in his." Mokuba said. "Maybe some blue? Or tan…"

Yugi nodded. "Neutrals could work in your favor. They won't clash with most other colors, and gives you more options for styling." He glanced up at the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Thinking about curtains?"

Mokuba laughed. "Nah. Curtains seem so….so…" he twirled his hands, thinking of the right word. "…girly?"

That made Yugi laugh harder.

"Although, now that I think of it…maybe some sort of shade! Like…a sheer one to keep the direct sun out! This room faces west, and we're so high up that there's no way to block out some of the light."

"Ah, I bet that would look cool." Yugi said. He turned another page. "Wow…this stuff looks so stiff….or just plain weird. Did Pablo Picasso design this furniture?" He showed his companion the page in question and they both broke out into giggles.

Once Mokuba calmed down, he looked at Yugi, curious. "I forgot to ask before, but what brings you up here? If you're looking for my brother, he's still in America."

 _No he's not._ Yugi sighed. "I wanted to see _you_ actually. It's been a while since we all hung out at the game shop. I thought perhaps we rubbed you the wrong way or something during our last game day. I know Joey has a hard time filtering out his mouth…"

"What? No! it hasn't been you guys at all. I mean, I miss you and Joey and Tristan. I've just been really, really busy. Between school and this," he gestured to the room, "I haven't got a lot of free time."

Yugi nodded, and asked, "Are you still filling in for Kaiba?"

Mokuba nodded.

 _Well, this might just be it. Ok Yugi, it's now or never._ He took a deep breath. The next line of questions were going to be difficult, since it was highly doubtful Mokuba would just give up his façade and tell the truth. "How is Kaiba, anyway? Have you heard from him recently?" He asked with as much innocent curiosity as he could muster.

Mokuba blinked, then shrugged. "Seto is fine. He's just as busy as me, if not busier. He called the other day to see how school was going." _Ok, Mokuba. Keep your cool…there's no reason to panic. Yugi's just being friendly. It's natural for him to ask about Seto…I mean, who isn't at this point?_

"What's he doing in America? Is he working on another theme park?"

Mokuba shook his head. "Nah, he's in New York, or at least that's where he said he was. We just opened another set of offices there."

"Ah, that's great! I should tell Téa! You know, she's in New York studying dance. Maybe she can pop in and visit."

"NO!" Mokuba said too fast." _Oh crap. Red alert, Mokie. RED ALERT!_ _Think, think, think!_ Yugi looked at him, surprised by the sudden outburst. "I mean…well, you know my brother, and how he feels about your friends." Mokuba paused, trying to make up something convincing on the fly. "I'd hate for her to fight her way to Seto's door only to get an earful of his grouchiness."

 _She's already tried, kiddo._ Yugi feigned an understanding nod. "Perhaps you're right. I mean, you're his brother, you know him best."

Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. Under the skin, he was a nervous wreck, and could have been sweating bullets. "Yeah, I suppose that's right."

Yugi went on, closing the magazine as he spoke. "And I imagine the two of you are so close, you'd do anything to keep him from getting distracted…"

Mokuba blinked. "Yugi?"

"…you might even go as far as _lie_ for him, right Mokuba?"

Mokuba swallowed and looked at Yugi. He didn't answer.

Yugi took a deep breath and pushed himself out of the bean bag chair. He paced about and fidgeted his hands before turning back to Mokuba. "Please don't lie to me anymore, Mokuba." He continued, softer. "I know that Kaiba's not really in America."

* * *

Roland signed in at the main office to Mokuba's school. They gave him an odd look when he said he was there for the parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Elkridge, representing Mokuba. To the secretaries, he looked more like a secret agent from _Men in Black_ than a guardian. Nonetheless, he was given a map of the school and verbal instructions how to get to the classroom in question.

The classroom door was open, and Roland knocked twice on the doorframe to get the instructor's attention. She was sitting at her desk grading assignments. Either she had free time before their session, or her last conference let out early. Regardless, it worked in Roland's favor. The sooner this conference began, the sooner he could get back to Kaiba Corp.

Mrs. Elkridge looked up from the assignment and smiled. "Hello." She stood and gestured for him to enter. "Welcome. Have a seat. Let's see…" she peeked at her planner. "You're here representing Mokuba Kaiba, yes?"

Roland nodded and took a seat near her desk. She grabbed a student folder and joined him, sitting at the desk across from him. She wondered why he didn't remove his dark glasses, but in the end, decided not to ask.

"Mokuba has informed me that his brother was unable to attend this session. I appreciate you coming in his place." She opened the folder. Much of Mokuba's classwork was piled inside.

"Of course, Ma'am."

"May I ask, what is your relation to Mokuba? Mr…" she glanced down at the permission form that he had signed days ago. "…Mr. Thompson?"

Roland reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out his KC identification badge for her to see. "I am Mr. Kaiba's senior advisor and his security chief."

"I assume, Mr. Kaiba being _Seto Kaiba_?" she asked. Roland nodded.

"And what about Mokuba?"

"Mr. Mokuba has been placed into my care while his brother is away on business." Roland said, folding his hands on the student desk. "I've taken care of him before, for many years in fact, while Kaiba Corp was being run by Mr. Gozaburo Kaiba. I can assure you, he is in good hands, Mrs. Elkridge."

She nodded slowly, and tapped her fingers idly on the desk. "What is home-life like? I suppose, what is his schedule when he leaves school for the day?"

Roland leaned back in his chair. "On average, I, or another member of my security, picks him up from school and takes him back to Kaiba Corp where he waits for me to finish my day. It's usually between 5:00 and 6:30 that I take him home for the day."

"What does he do at the office?"

"Sometimes, homework. Other times, he tries to fill in for Mr. Kaiba. Mr. Mokuba _is_ the company's honorary vice president."

"I see…" She said, and pulled out some papers from the folder. "And have you been an active participant in Mokuba's schoolwork?"

"No, I haven't. Not unless he came to me for help. Mr. Mokuba always seemed self-sufficient when it came to his studies."

"Have you noticed any changes in his behavior recently?" she asked.

Roland stopped to think for a moment. "Only a bit moodier, that I can tell. Then again, aren't most normal twelve-year-olds?" Roland cleared his throat. "Let me guess. His performance in class in unsatisfactory."

Mrs. Elkridge shook her head slightly. "Well, I wouldn't go that far. He is still passing the class, according to the grading standard." She laid out the latest reading quizzes and collected assignments for him to flip through. "From the beginning of the year, Mokuba Kaiba has been an exemplary student. Almost all 'A's, a few 'B+' here and there. But look at this, Mr. Thompson. For the last few weeks, his grades overall have been slipping. The last two reading comprehension quizzes, he's barely made a 'C'. And much of his homework has been either rushed to completion, or not completed at all."

Roland examined Mokuba's work and shook his head slowly, in disapproval. "If Mr. Kaiba were here, he would not allow such shoddy work to be turned in." He sighed. "He takes Mr. Mokuba's education very seriously. This…" he gestured to the top quiz, "Is not the quality work befitting a Kaiba."

"I'm concerned for him. It can't just be my class that his grades and overall performance are slipping. It could be in all his subjects, and that will negatively affect his class standings. What can be done to help him?"

"I will talk with him," Roland answered, "And get to the root of this issue. With luck, this problem can be easily resolved." He said, but knew better. A pep talk and more time devoted to his studies would naturally make Mokuba's grades rise again, but Roland knew that if the boy's moodiness was related to Seto's disappearance, then the only permanent solution would be to bring Seto Kaiba back. But…without being able to contact him, or track where he even was; it was just short of impossible.

"And what of his brother? Will he be told about this?"

"Mr. Kaiba will be informed. This situation will be resolved."

* * *

Mokuba gulped. He wasn't sure if he even had any color left in his face. "Wha…?"

Yugi sighed, and knelt in front of Mokuba's bean bag chair. "I remember when you first told me that Kaiba was overseas. It happened to come up during a video chat with my friends. She took a visit to the New York offices, and they said he wasn't there. The California offices said the same thing when she called." Yugi paused. "Mokuba…what's going on?"

Mokuba shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't at all prepared for this line of conversation. What would he say to Yugi? How would Yugi react? Mokuba felt scared. In the past, Yugi has always been understanding and compassionate. But, telling Yugi would mean Joey and Tristan would eventually learn the truth, too. And the two of them were always quicker to judge Seto than anyone.

"Seto…isn't here."

"…yes, I know. Where is he?"

"I…I don't know." Mokuba said, quietly. He found it difficult to say the words. Saying it, would mean finally admitting it to himself, and that was something he refused to do. "He's…gone."

"Mokuba, you're not making much sense." Yugi said. "You're telling me he just left without telling you where he was going?"

Mokuba shook his head. "NO…I mean…I know where he went, but…ARG…this is too hard to explain."

Yugi frowned. How could something as simple as Kaiba going somewhere be so complicated? "OK. He went somewhere. Is he looking for something?" No response from Mokuba.

"Someone?"

Mokuba nodded ever so slightly.

"Who?"

"The Pharaoh."

That was it. The truth was out. Mokuba exhaled the deep breath he had been holding inside.

Yugi blinked, and his voice waivered slightly. He shook his head, trying to make sense of what Mokuba just said. "Atem?"

Mokuba nodded. "His time on the space station? He was obsessed with the Pharaoh…again." Mokuba's voice almost sounded pleading. "You know my brother, Yugi… you know how he obsessed over that stupid rematch."

"But…how? Atem is gone…."

This was getting to be more emotional than Mokuba wanted. He was a Kaiba, and no Kaiba ever cried in front of others. Heck, Kaiba's never cried period. With a sniffle, Mokuba rubbed his sleeve against his nose. "Seto took that weird cube that Diva used back at the exhibition. He obsessed over trying to make it work. And he ripped apart one of his virtual pods to do it." There wasn't a point to hiding any of the details anymore. "Once his pod was finished, he took off…. He barely even said goodbye to me…."

Yugi bit his lip and placed a comforting hand on Mokuba's shoulder. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. Anything he could come up with sounded…..wrong. 'Don't worry, Mokuba. Of course Kaiba love you. I'm sure he didn't mean to leave so abruptly'; or, 'Hey, don't sweat it. He knows what he's doing'. He couldn't say that…after all. He wasn't even there when Kaiba left.

"Mokuba…" it was all he could manage to say.

"He…he was only supposed to be gone _a day_ …maybe two." Mokuba cried. "It's been weeks, Yugi!"

"Why didn't you tell us something was wrong? We could have helped you…"

"You honestly expected me to tell you that my brother blasted off into outer space just to play a card game with a ghost? Get real, Yugi! If the press finds out, our reputation will plummet. AGAIN!" Mokuba sniffled again. "I'm sorry I lied to you…really. I just didn't know how to tell you the truth. I was…afraid…."

"Afraid?"

Mokuba nodded. "I didn't want you all judging me…or him…I couldn't….I can't take that…not on top of everything else." Mokuba decided not to tell Yugi about being the new 'official' head of Kaiba Corp. He didn't want to overload Yugi, and he himself was feeling too emotional.

Yugi pulled Mokuba into a hug. He expected the kid to push out of it, but instead, he just stayed there, leaning against Yugi's shoulder. "Hey, never be afraid to talk to me, or Joey or Tristan." He paused. "Actually…scratch that. Never be afraid to come and talk to me, or Grandpa. We would never judge you…or Kaiba. I mean, think of everything we've been through over the years. You're never alone, and you'll never _be_ alone, ok?'

Mokuba nodded and sighed. He knew Yugi meant well, and it was true. He would always have Yugi's ear. But having Yugi or his grandpa for support wasn't the same as his big brother. And that thought made him feel even more alone than ever.


	11. A Day too Painful

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in this installment compared to the continuous updates of the previous chapters. I took a pause from this fic to work on my other incomplete story for a little while. Updates for this story will probably be every couple of weeks, depending on my schedule and free time.**

Chapter 10: A Day too Painful

" _You did the right thing, Mr. Mokuba."_ _Roland said. "You can't expect to bottle up your feelings forever and expect no one to notice; to expect no one to worry. You need at least one person to be able to fall back on when you need to talk."_

" _But…that's why I have you!" Mokuba said._

" _Someone other than me."_

" _Why?" Mokuba asked, tucking his feet up and under him while sitting on the couch at home. "You're 'acting-Seto'! You're like my father…my step-step father." He blinked and thought it over. Yeah, step-step father totally made sense. Sort of. Whatever._

" _I'm also your employee, Sir. Surely you want to be able to talk to someone not affiliated with your brother? Someone more equal terms?"_

 _Mokuba let out a huff._

" _You did tell Mr. Muto, after all." Roland finally said._

" _I didn't really…" Mokuba said. "He already knew I was lying."_

" _And don't you feel better now that he knows the truth?" Roland asked, crossing his arms._

" _I dunno." Mokuba shrugged._

" _Mr. Mokuba, if I may," Roland began, taking a seat beside his charge on the sofa. "It will do you good to have a confidant that you may express your opinions to freely. Vent to me all you like about predicaments, school, even your own brother. However, being that Mr. Seto Kaiba is my employer, as are you to an extent, there are certain topics I cannot freely talk about…even with his absence." His voice softened. "I believe Yugi Muto is just the friend you need right now."_

Mokuba lay in bed staring at the ceiling as he thought back to that conversation he had with Roland once they had gotten home that one day. The day Mokuba revealed the truth to Yugi. He had to admit to himself, the last two weeks did seem to go a tad easier for him, now that he and Yugi were on the same page. At least when he was alone with Yugi, he didn't have to keep his guard up in conversation. No more lies, no more excuses. But, only with Yugi. Mokuba wasn't sure if Yugi had even told his grandfather. Joey and Tristan were still left in the dark. Mokuba swallowed. It would have to be that way for a little longer. They were the most judgmental of Yugi's friends, and he still couldn't bear to deal with the backlash of his brother's reckless decisions. It was bad enough for the occasional unpleasant mood-swings he felt towards his brother. He loved Seto. That would never change.

However, his current predicament has certainly done a number on his emotional state. He didn't know whether to feel angry at Seto for 'abandoning' him. Was it really abandonment? Seto didn't do it on purpose. He was only supposed to be gone a day or two. This was all an accident. One terribly painful twist of fate. Mokuba didn't know if he should also feel a tad hopeful for Seto. His departure was, after all, for the sole purpose of fulfilling a promise made years ago. To duel the Pharaoh, to have his rematch, and come out victorious. It was the very act, that promise, that helped fuel the creation of the Battle City tournament; to the constant upgrades to the KaibaCorp mainframes, computer simulations, and the eventual construction of the KC space station: to find away to defeat the Pharaoh; and the final spur, the recovery and reconstruction of the millennium puzzle. Mokuba couldn't deny it. Seto _needed_ this. Whether he won or lost against the Pharaoh, he needed to face him one more time, and get this fury out of his system. But…couldn't there have been another, less risky way of going about it all?

This was all so confusing, and the longer Seto was gone, the harder it became for Mokuba to keep his feelings in check.

With a huff, he turned over and glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand.

 _12:47am._

 _Thursday October 25_

Mokuba froze his sight at the display.

 _No…no no no! It can't be….not today. Not now…_ Mokuba sat upright in bed as he felt a wave of tears start to form. The days had passed by quicker than he anticipated, and left him unprepared for the emotional onslaught that was to come. He grasped hold of his bedsheet and brought the edge to his face to wipe the falling drops away. With the throw of his arm, he pushed back the blankets and stood up and grabbed the kuriboh plush from his dresser. He didn't want to stay in his own room anymore.

Quietly, Mokuba made his way down the hall to his brother's room and pushed the door open. It was cruel how the emptiness became too familiar for him. Without another thought, he dove onto the bed and buried himself under the blankets.

It was so unfair. He could remember back months before, when everything seemed calm. Before duel exhibitions gone-awry, before graduation ceremonies and obsessions over ancient Egyptian artifacts, he had started to plan out what he wanted to do today. One of the three most important days of the year. Finding activities that Seto enjoyed that _didn't_ have anything to do with _Duel Monsters_ was difficult. Not that any of his planning mattered anymore. Seto was gone, possibly not coming back, and he was left here, alone, to pick up the pieces.

As Mokuba dug his face deeper into his pillow, he remembered something Gozaburo told him years ago, in a rare moment that his stepfather showed any attention towards him. He had tripped over his own feet and taken a tumble down several steps, and he landed just outside his stepfather's study door. ' _You are a Kaiba now, young Mokuba. And no member of this respected family ever sheds tears. To do so is to show weakness, to show that you are not in control._ Mokuba sniffled at the memory, and snorted at the advice. Gozaburo was never an affectionate man, so his words were pretty on point considering his 'shining' personality.

Still, Mokuba was never one to take much stock in what Gozaburo said. And with an aching sigh, he closed his eyes tight against the pillow and let out a good cry. He cried for Seto, the brother he desperately missed, more than anything in this world. He cried for the life he used to have, the life that was torn away from him by his brother's desperation to revive a dead pharaoh. Most of all, he cried for himself, for the sake of his sanity and the ability to pull himself through this; for faith that not all would be lost, and everything would somehow turn out right in the end; that Seto would return eventually, and he could go back to being the little brother, the seventh grader, and honorary VP of Kaiba Corp.

After Mokuba cried for all of that, he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Roland finished packing up Mokuba's lunch for the day and glanced at the clock hanging in the kitchen. Mokuba only had about thirty minutes before it was time to leave for school. It wasn't like the boy to be late.

The chief of security moved up the stairs at a quickened pace and froze at Mokuba's open door. He took a step inside. The room was empty, and the bed unmade. He felt the bedsheets. They were cold. Mokuba hadn't been in for quite some time. So where was he?

"Mr. Mokuba?" Roland asked, looking around and then returning to the corridor. As he looked both ways, he noticed the door to Seto Kaiba's room open ajar. That wasn't how it was left the last time someone went in or out. Quietly, he moved to the door and pushed it open. There, he found Mokuba, sound asleep buried under blankets.

Roland sighed and moved over to the side of the bed where his charge was passed out asleep. Gently, he nudged Mokuba's shoulder. "Sir?"

"….mmph."

"Mr. Mokuba. Wake up."

Mokuba peeked an eye open and saw his temporary guardian. With a yawn, he mumbled, "Whaaaaaat?"

"Sir, you have to get up? We leave for your school in under thirty minutes."

Mokuba let out an exhausted huff and shoved his face back in the pillow. "I'm not goin'."

Roland cocked an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"I said…I'm not going." Mokuba's voice said muffled.

"I beg to differ." The man replied. He had no time for this. With a tug, he yanked the blankets back, causing Mokuba to roll over and sit up.

"HEY!"

Roland opened his mouth to protest but then caught sight of Mokuba's face. His eyes were bloodshot. "Are…are you alright? Are you sick?"

"No…" Mokuba whined, and tugged his knees up and hugging his legs.

"Then what –oh…" His voice trailed off as he made the mental connection. A sniffle from Mokuba confirmed it.

"I miss my brother…" Mokuba forced out, his voice quiet. "It hurts…"

Roland sat down on the edge of the bed beside Mokuba and sighed to himself. He knew all week that getting Mokuba through today would be the biggest challenge. Being a loner for so many years, it was difficult to relate to the pain the youth was feeling, the loss of a loved one. Of the two brothers, Mokuba was always the one who openly expressed his emotions, even if he did try to suppress them inside like his older brother. Despite his employer's icy persona towards pretty much everyone, sometimes including Mokuba, the two brothers shared a very close relationship. They were all each other truly had. Sadly, that only makes the separation even more painful for Mokuba.

All Roland could do was open his arms out. Almost instantly, Mokuba dove into them, clinging to the front of Roland's suit and crying into his chest.

"I can't do this, Roland…I can't. I'm not Seto…I'm not strong or smart…I can't juggle school and headquarters. I can't run our company all by myself. I'm only _twelve…._ " He sighed. "What was Seto thinking?" There was another pause, and only his sobs broke the silence in the bedroom. "Why…Roland? Why did he have to go?" Mokuba sniffled, his voice muffled. He felt Roland's hands rub his back gently. "Why did he leave me alone?"

Roland hugged the boy closer as his own heart broke, wishing he could provide Mokuba with the answers he so desperately sought.

* * *

Mokuba didn't go to school that day. Even after his meltdown in Seto's bedroom, it still took some convincing for Roland to relent, and let him stay home. He understood his guardian's reasoning; 'that education as important, and his education was important to Seto.

Seto….

Mokuba flopped back down on Seto's bed. He barely left the room all day. Roland was downstairs in Seto's study working remotely. That was fine. Mokuba wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He wasn't even in the mood for anything period. He hugged his Kuriboh plush closer to his chest and sighed. If not for Seto's obsession over dead-not-dead-dead-again Pharaoh, he would still be here. Or, he'd be in his office working. Regardless, Mokuba would have gone in with attempts at surprising his big brother, and made lame jokes just to hear Seto laugh. And smile, if he was lucky.

But not today. Today, he was alone in the bedroom. Seto was gone to who-knows where. A very unnerving thought kept creeping into his mind. _What will happen if Seto truly doesn't return?_ Unfortunately, trying _not_ to think of it only made him consider the notion even more, and it scared him.

No. He wouldn't' think of such things today. This was supposed to be a stress free day of merriment…..even if he had to celebrate it solo.

He heard the grandfather clock downstairs chime 4:30. By now, Mokuba would have been picked up from school and he'd be at Kaiba Corp, no doubt in Seto's executive office waiting for him to finish up work for the day. He tried to imagine the scene in his mind: pushing the double doors open wildly, running across the room to engulf his elder brother in a tight hug and never letting go. Mokuba grabbed hold of the closest pillow and squeezed it against his chest to try and mimic his imagination.

With a sigh, he rolled onto his back, the pillow still clutched in his arms as he stared off at the ceiling.

"Seto…wherever you are…if you can hear me…" he paused to wipe a stray tear forming. His voice wavered. "…Happy Birthday."


	12. Where's Roland?

Chapter 11: Where's Roland?

"Um…Mrs. Elkridge?" said a meek voice from the doorway to her classroom.

The literature teacher looked up from her desk as she was packing up her folders for the day. A small smile formed on her face when she saw the owner of the voice. "Ah, Mokuba! I didn't realize you were staying after school today. What can I do for you?"

"I'm still waiting for my ride." Mokuba shuffled forward to the desk and held out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. "My report from yesterday that I couldn't find in my folder? It had fallen out in my locker." He held it out to her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I only just found it." He bit his lip nervously as he gripped the paper in his hands.

Mrs. Elkridge looked at the report. It certainly did look like it was shoved in the bottom of a locker with heavier items thrown on top of it. She recalled how distraught Mokuba was when she stopped by his desk to collect the assignment and he was tearing apart everything he owned, looking for it. While Mokuba had difficulties with the quality of his reading homework assignments in the past, he was never one to falter on larger, heavier-graded assignments. He was a good student, and she could see he was trying his very best, considering the circumstances she knew him to be in. With a sigh, she took the report and glanced it over.

"Please be more careful with your assignments in the future? Mokuba, I know this one was an accident, and the printed time-stamp at the bottom of the page shows it was completed on time. However, it's still late. I can't in good conscious give you a perfect score if it should have earned it. I do have to dock points for tardiness." She was firm, yet gentle with him.

"I understand." Mokuba nodded.

She noted he seemed a bit off. "I'm pleased that your grades are improving again. Are things getting easier for you?" She reached over the side of her desk and grabbed an extra chair, then invited him to sit down.

Mokuba took the seat and set his backpack on the floor by his feet. "Not really. But I think I'm getting better with time management." He replied. "Roland's making sure I get my homework done before I meddle in any Kaiba Corp stuff."

She nodded. "And is Mr. Thompson helping you with your homework, too?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Well…he tries. I mean, well…not that he's doing crappy or anything, just…" he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "let's just say when it comes to Algebra, he's chucked the book across the table in frustration." The comment got a small chuckle from his teacher, and it made Mokuba smile a little.

She leaned forward in her chair slightly. "What about your after school….well…" she moved her hand about thinking of the appropriate term, "duties, I suppose?"

Mokuba blinked. "Well…most of the week, right after school Roland…or Fugata, picks me up from school and-."

"-Fugata?" She asked, interrupting him.

"Oh. He's another member of Seto's security team. He's cool. Kinda stuffy though. Anyways, once I get picked up I go right to HQ. Usually, I just sit in my office doing homework. Other times, I get stuck going to really boring meetings."

She formed a smile, taking interest in the conversation. "Oh? You have your own office?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yep!"

She tilted her head quizzically. "Pardon me for asking, but…aren't you a bit young for something like that?"

The boy could only laugh. "Nah. Don't forget, Mrs. Elkridge. I'm Vice President of the company, even if I _am_ only twelve." He paused, and beamed. "Do you wanna see it?"

"The… office?" The teacher asked, a bit puzzled at first. "Oh, you mean, you have pictures?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah! It's been a work in progress, so I've been taking images so I could capture the stages of development." He reached into his backpack and pulled out his tablet computer. He found it very soothing to talk to her about something other than academics. Plus, it seemed she had a genuine interest. He booted up the tablet and opened one of his file folders containing images from Kaiba Corp.

"See, this is what it looked like before we started." He said, placing the tablet on the desk in front of her.

"It looks like…an old supply closet." She said with surprise in her voice. Gently, she picked up the tablet and looked at the image closer. "This was an office?"

"Well, it was supposed to be. I don't remember much about our stepfather's time as president of the company, about who he had as vice president, and where his workspace was. But ever since Seto took over a few years ago, I inherited the title. I haven't really done much in the grand scheme of things. Commissioned a few tournaments, supervised a dig-site." He swiped the screen to show her a few more images. "Seto is the real driving force behind the company. I'm just helping out where I can."

She flipped over a few more images before handing the tablet back to Mokuba. "This is really impressive, Mokuba. When will it be finished?"

"It's practically done now!" Mokuba beamed. "All that's left is for my computers to be put in. It'll be so nice to be able to access any corporate stuff I need to without trying to hack into my brother's desktop."

"Why would you need to hack? He doesn't allow you onto his equipment?"

He shrugged. "Seto's office computer is password protected. And it's not a lame one like our names or birthdays. He's really particular about security after so many corporate take-over attempts."

"How is your brother?"

"S-Seto?" He forced himself to keep his cool, and gave a nonchalant shrug. "He's ok."

"Still in America?"

"Mmhm." He began to fidget, and to hide it, he slipped the tablet back into his bookbag.

Mrs. Elkridge watched him closely. Something was clearly off. Was he hiding something? "Mokuba…. If something is wrong, you don't have to hold it in. Tell someone."

 _How can I tell you that my brother isn't in America, that's he's gone? What would you say? What would you DO?_

"I'm…I'm fine. Really." He glanced down at his watch. _Where's Roland?_

There was a knock on the door frame.

"Uh, Mokuba?" Said the quiet voice. "Oh, Hi, Mrs. Elkridge."

She looked up to the doorway and beamed. "Well well! Yugi Muto. It has certainly been a while!"

"heh." Yugi smiled, a blush starting to creep over his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's good to see you."

"You had Yugi in your class?" Mokuba asked, looking back and forth between the two adults. "What was he like?"

"He was the quietest person in the room. Very shy, but still one of my top students." She smiled, and turned to Yugi. "What brings you down here?"

"Actually, I was looking for Mokuba. I'm here to pick him up."

"Ah," She nodded. "It appears your ride is finally here." She looked to Mokuba with a smile. "I enjoyed our chat, Mokuba. Enjoy the rest of your day, alright?"

"Okay." Mokuba nodded and grabbed his backpack. "Bye!" He skipped to the door and walked off with Yugi.

"You have _perfect_ timing, Yugi." Mokuba said once they were outside. "Our chat was starting to get awkward"

"Awkward? Why?"

"About Seto."

"Oh." Yugi frowned. "I take it she doesn't know."

Mokuba shook his head. "She thinks he is in America on business."

"More lies, Mokuba?"

"It's not _more_. It's the same one I told you and your friends. Actually, it's basically the cover story for anyone not related to Kaiba Corp. _They_ think Seto is on meditative retreat or something." He sighed. "The only ones who know the truth are the scientists who worked on the pod, Roland, Fugata, and you. And it better stay that way. I can't risk my brother's reputation plummeting. Or worse. The company's."

Yugi sighed. "I won't say a word, I promised."

"So…were you really there to pick me up from school?"

"Yeah. Roland called the shop about an hour ago. He said he was stuck in a meeting and asked if I could grab you."

"What about Fugata?"

"Uh, I didn't ask?" Yugi shrugged. "But I did say you'd stay at the shop until he was able to come get you. I uh…hope that's alright. Did you have plans after school today?"

"Not really." Mokuba answered. "If something major was happening at HQ today, a car would have been sent for me."

Yugi nodded and smiled. "Joey is at the shop too, so he'll be hanging out with us also. When I mentioned bringing you over, he said something about a Dr. Mario rematch?"

That brought a smile to the young Kaiba's face. "Alright! I hope he's prepared to lose!"

* * *

Grandpa Muto chuckled as he relaxed in the recliner off to the side of the game room. Yugi, Mokuba, and Joey were sitting on small cushions around the large television set playing their retro video games. The elder man enjoyed playing an earlier round of the game, but now he was content sitting back and watching the youngsters go at it. More specifically, Yugi sat in the middle and tried to keep score while Joey and Mokuba continuously battled it out.

"So, Yugi." Grandpa began. "Who is winning right now?"

Yugi looked at the paper before him. "Well, Mokuba's won five games. Joey, two." Yugi laughed and nodded his head towards the television screen. "But with this match, it's anyone's game."

"OY! Mokuba! Stop sendin' me your color leftovers!" Joey complained as random mini-color blocks fell on his half of the screen, messing up his strategy."

"You snooze, you lose, Joey!" Mokuba snickered, as his fingers flew over the controller. He snuck a quick glance at Joey's half of the screen. The viruses and pill bottles were stacking higher, and higher until...

BBBZZT! GAME OVER!

"Aw man!" Joey pouted, and set the controller down to shake out his hands. "You little punk! I demand a rematch! Lets go!"

"Another one?" Yugi blinked. "It's a 6-2 lead. I think by now it's safe to say Mokuba's trumped you, pal."

Joey sighed. "E' tu, Yugi?" He turned around to the elder man. "Hey gramps! Want to jump back in?"

"Oh ho ho." Grandpa chuckled, "No thanks. I'm enjoying you youngsters playing just fine from here."

Mokuba took the momentary pause in gameplay to check his cellphone for any messages from Roland. The lock screen was empty.

Yugi noticed Mokuba's frown. "Is everything ok, Mokuba?"

Mokuba shook his head slightly. "We haven't heard from Roland yet, right? It's not like him to be this late and not call."

"Why don't you give him a call, Mokuba." Grandpa suggested. "Perhaps he got caught up on business and lost track of time?"

"It still doesn't sound like Roland, but I'll give it a shot." Mokuba stood up and walked out of the room, down the small flight of stairs to the empty game shop to make his call.

He dialed Roland's number and put the phone to his ear. It rang. Once. Twice. Three times. By the fifth ring and no answer, Mokuba hung up. _What's going on? Why won't he answer? I hope everything is alright._ Mokuba frowned. _Maybe I should have left him a message._ He frowned, and redialed.

Same number of rings went through, then the beginnings of the answering machine. Mokuba waited patiently for the beep, then spoke. "Uh, hi Roland. It's me. I'm just wondering where you are. It's almost 7:30, and no one's heard from you since you called Yugi earlier today. You still can't possibly be in that meeting. I guess? I mean…are you still at HQ? Gimme a call back once you get this." He swiped his finger over the screen and ended the call.

With a slight shrug, he trudged back up the stairs to Yugi's living room. Now, Yugi and Joey were competing. Mokuba took a seat on the couch and set his phone on the coffee table.

"Did you manage to contact your guard?" Grandpa asked, concerned.

Mokuba shook his head. "No. I did leave him a message though. Hopefully he'll get back to me soon."

Grandpa nodded, and turned his attention back to the television briefly. Every so often, he glanced over at Mokuba. The boy had a strange expression on his face.

The gaming event continued for another two hours. Yugi and Joey switched games to Super Mario Bros 3, and were gaming two-player. Meanwhile, Mokuba made the mistake of watching them by laying down on the couch. It wasn't long after the new game started that he dozed off. Outside, the sounds of raindrops began to sound against the game music as a storm rolled into the Domino area. A few rumbles of thunder were also heard in the distance, and the upcoming storm put a hinder on some of the gameplay.

Once Joey left for the night, Grandpa and Yugi stood behind the couch looking down at the sleeping Kaiba.

"Well…at least Mokuba looks peaceful." Yugi sighed and picked up Mokuba's phone off the table. "Huh. Apparently, Roland sent a message over an hour ago." he said, reading the message that appeared on the lock screen. "He left Kaiba Corp and was heading here."

"He said that an hour ago?" Grandpa asked. "He should have been here by now. Kaiba Corp is only a fifteen-minute drive from here."

"I'm going to give another call to Roland. It's really getting late." There was a flash of lightning. Yugi gulped and dialed Roland's cell number from Mokuba's contact list.

The call was put on speaker so his grandpa could hear as well. They waited for the rings.

There was only silence.

 _-Beep. We're sorry. Your call could not be connected. Please check the number you are dialing, and try again. –_

Yugi blinked and looked to Grandpa. "I…uh…what?"

"The call was disconnected? Try again, Yugi."

Yugi redialed. The same message was heard.

"Grandpa…I have a bad feeling about this."

"Me too, Yugi….me too."

Yugi looked back to Mokuba. "What should we do? Wake him?"

Grandpa frowned and pulled the throw blanket off the back of the sofa, and draped it over the sleeping Kaiba. "Is there anyone else at the Kaiba house you can contact?"

"I…I don't think so. Kaiba's residence isn't even publicly listed. As far as I know, Roland was his main caregiver." Yugi shook his head. "I don't even know what I would tell him." Yugi rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe…we should just let him sleep?"

"What about tomorrow?" Grandpa asked. "He still has school." The man went to the linen closet to retrieve a softer pillow for Mokuba.

"I can take him to school tomorrow morning. Hopefully by then, there will be answers."

* * *

Meanwhile, the shrills of emergency sirens echoed throughout the city as first-responders raced through the raging storm to the location of a frantically placed 911 call. When the first ambulance arrived and the paramedics jumped out, they found a young woman huddled under an umbrella and staring at the downward slope.

"Ma'am! What happened?" Asked one of the medics.

"I'm…I'm not entirely sure." She said, clearly shaken. "You see…the rain was making it difficult to see, so my husband and I pulled over here to the side of the road to wait out the worst of the storm." She swallowed. "It was during a bright flash of lightning that we noticed there was a wreck down there." She pointed downhill. "My husband went to see if he could help. Please hurry! I think the drivers are trapped, and I'm not sure how long they've been stuck down there!" A few moments after the ambulance arrived, police officers arrived at the scene.

The paramedic waved for his companions to grab their equipment and hurry down the slope. Their flashlights waved about and they caught sight of two smashed vehicles overturned. One red sport utility vehicle was leaning sideways against an upside-down black company car.

While the medics worked to free anyone trapped inside the two vehicles, a policeman moved down and took record of the license plates. The current position of the SUV made that one difficult, but other plate was clear as day.

 _KC-RT01_


	13. Breaking News

**A/N: Sorry for such a delay for this chapter. I had a plan in my head how this one was supposed to go, but getting it into actual words was very difficult. This might be the last update for the year, with the holidays approaching and my free time being sucked away. If that's the case, this will be picking back up in January on a more regulated schedule. Hopefully. Thanks for your patience and Happy Holidays everybody!**

Chapter 12: Breaking News

"Mokuba?"

"…hmmph."

"Mokuba…" Yugi nudged the young boy's shoulder gently. "Wake up."

"…huh?" Mokuba stirred from his makeshift bed on the couch. He sat up slowly and rubbed some sleep from his eyes. "Y-Yugi? Why are you in my room?"

Yugi blinked and answered nervously. "This isn't your room, kiddo. You're still at my house."

"I… I am?" Mokuba looked around. Sure enough, he was in Yugi's living room. "Wait… I'm still here? Didn't Roland come for me last night?"

Yugi shook his head. "No. Something must have come up." He frowned. "Roland did send you a message while you had fallen asleep, but we couldn't get in contact with him afterwards. Perhaps his phone ran out of battery?"

Mokuba shrugged. "I dunno, I guess." He pushed the blanket off him and stretched. "Erm… I'm sorry I made myself into a burden for you, Yugi."

Yugi shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it, Mokuba. Grandpa is fixing up some breakfast for you. And there is a clean set of towels and clothes in the bathroom, so you can freshen up."

Yugi watched as Mokuba slid off the couch and moved down the hall, then went into the kitchen. Grandpa Muto was boxing up a lunch for Mokuba to take to school.

"Is he awake, Yugi?" Grandpa asked.

"Mmhm." Yugi replied. "He will be down in…. maybe fifteen minutes? Once he finishes breakfast, I'll walk him to school."

"I'm worried…" Grandpa sighed. "When I came in this morning, I was hoping to see a message on the phone about Mokuba." He shook his head. "His guardian still hasn't made any contact since last night."

"I know. I think, once I drop him off at school, I'll see if Tristan is around. Maybe he can give me a ride over to KaibaCorp. Someone there might know something.

Breakfast was quiet. Mokuba thanked Yugi and Grandpa for the clothes and hospitality, but that was essentially all that was said between the three of them.

* * *

"Bye Mokuba. Have a good day at school!" Yugi waved from the sidewalk. Once the youth was safely inside the building, Yugi walked away from the campus and started down the street. About two blocks down, a motorbike came rumbling down the street and pulled over to the sidewalk's edge.

"hey, Yugi!" The man called and tugged off his protective helmet.

"Hi Tristan!" Yugi waved. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. I hope you won't be late for work."

"Nah." Tristan shrugged. "Stopping here was sort of on the way. What was with the cryptic message, anyway?"

Yugi sighed. "I was hoping you could take me to Kaiba Corp."

Tristan blinked in confusion. "Kaiba Corp? Why do you want to go there?"

"It's hard to explain, but I have a bad feeling. Mokuba came over last night for game day and he was forced to stay the night. Roland never came to pick him up."

"Roland?" Tristan tilted his head, thinking, then he nodded with realization. "Ooh, I think I remember him. One of Kaiba's lackeys, right?"

"He's become Mokuba's 'guardian'," Yugi used air quotes, "ever since Kaiba left. Last night he did send Mokuba a text saying he was on the way, and never showed. I guess I just want to make sure he's ok."

Tristan shrugged. "Well if that's what you want, sure. I'll take you." He glanced behind him at the bike. "Sorry though, I forgot your helmet. You'll have to hang on tight, ok?"

"Sure." Yugi stepped off the sidewalk and climbed on behind Tristan. The motorcycle's engines roared to life, and the two sped off downtown.

As Yugi and Tristan walked through the glass doors of Kaiba Corp headquarters, they immediately moved off to the side. There was plenty of commotion going on.

"So uh, where are we supposed to go?" Tristan asked, leaning down to whisper to Yugi.

"Beats me." Yugi shrugged. "I don't recognize any of these people." He spotted the main receptions desk off to the right side and started towards it. "I guess we'll just as a secretary. Someone is bound to know _something_ , right?"

"Hey, your guess is as good as mine, Yug'."

"Excuse me," Yugi said as he stepped up to the counter. The young woman on the other side looked up from her papers to stare him down.

"Yes?"

"Is Seto Kaiba in?" Yugi asked. _It's worth a shot._ Tristan gave his friend an odd look, then turned his attention to the large television monitors lining the back wall running several different gaming and news channels muted with subtitles running across the bottom of the screens.

"Mr. Kaiba is out of the office on sabbatical leave."

"ookay…" Yugi frowned "What about Roland?"

She sighed. "Mr. Thompson has not arrived yet. He never arrives to headquarters until after dropping off Mr. Mokuba at school."

"Uh, he didn't drop the kid off today." Tristan butt in. "Yugi here did."

"That's right." Yugi nodded. "Is there someone we can talk to? We're worried."

The receptionist let out a slight huff, picked up the phone and dialed out. Yugi and Tristan exchanged looks as she spoke to the person on the other end of the line for a few moments. She got their attention again once the phone hit the receiver again. "Fuguta will be down in a few moments."

"Okay." Yugi nodded. "Thanks." He and Tristan moved off to the side to wait.

"Who's Fuguta?" Tristan asked.

"Someone with answers, I hope."

"Well…" Tristan glanced at his watch. "I gotta scram if I have any hope of getting to the factory on time. I hate to leave you here though."

Yugi shook his head. "No worries, Tristan. I appreciate you bringing me over in the first place."

"Hey, what are friends for, right?" He gave Yugi a light fist-bump. "Now keep me posted, ok?"

"Sure thing. Thanks, Tristan." He gave a short wave as his taller friend hurried out of the lobby to his motorbike.

A few minutes later, Yugi heard someone come up behind him. He turned to see a familiar corporate employee, one he recognized from Kaiba's Battle City tournament.

"Yugi Muto." Fuguta said. He had what looked like to be a large tablet computer in his hands.

"Um, yeah. Hi?" Yugi said and scratched the back of his head nervously. "I was wondering if could give me some information."

"Pertaining to what?" Fuguta asked. His eyebrow cocked curiously behind his sunglasses.

"It's about Roland." Yugi sighed. "We haven't heard from him in a while."

"Mr. Thompson was in the office until late last night."

"I know." Yugi said. "He called me yesterday afternoon to see if I could pick up Mokuba from school, and he would come by the Game Shop once he left for the day. But he never showed. Not last night, or this morning to take Mokuba to school. Obviously, Mokuba is concerned, and I am too. I don't know Roland as well as you all do, but he doesn't seem like the person to run late without telling someone."

Fuguta's fingers drummed over the edge of the tablet. "Hm. I was with him last night until about eight-thirty. He was wrapping up notes for meetings all day today."

"I haven't seen him come in yet today either." Yugi said. "Granted, Tristan and I were only here a few minutes, but the receptionist said he hadn't come in yet."

"Hmm…" He waved Yugi to follow him to another area of the lobby that was a bit quieter, to some chairs surrounding a low coffee table. Fuguta set the tablet down on the table and started pulling up some of the building's security feeds.

"What are those?" Yugi asked as he sat down across from the security guard and looked down at the tablet.

"These are the camera feeds from last night, to see when Mr. Thompson left for the night." Both he and Yugi watched as Fuguta used his finger to scroll-fast-forward until just after the point where Fuguta left. The colored feed showed Roland sitting alone in the security office typing away on the keyboards.

When the image showed Roland finally leaving the office, Fuguta switched feeds to watch his boss go down the elevator, then out the lobby to the parking lot.

"There…" Yugi pointed to the screen. "He got into a car. That must have been when he texted Mokuba last night."

Fuguta zoomed in on the parking lot image to get a look at the car. "He was using a company vehicle yesterday."

"So?" Yugi shrugged.

Fuguta straightened in his seat. "All registered Kaiba Corp vehicles are equipped with GPS tracking that constantly sends the signals up through our satellites and back down to our central computer. Even the limos reserved only for Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mokuba have this equipment; in case of emergencies, or employees going rogue with corporate property. Or…in extreme circumstances," he let out a dry chuckle, "Should Mr. Mokuba find himself in trouble…. again."

"Oooh…." Yugi started to nod in understanding, "So, by looking back through the satellite readings, you can tell just where Roland went to last night."

"Exactly." He minimized the corporate property feeds and opened another app to load the GPS readouts.

Before he could get very far with the data, there was the sound of broken glass and a woman let out a cry from the other side of the lobby.

Abandoning the tablet for the moment, Fuguta leapt to his feet and whirled around to see the commotion.

Yugi recognized the young woman as Keiko, the private secretary for the Kaiba brothers. She had let him into Mokuba's office in the past. Now, she had her hands covering her mouth and was staring in horror at one of the news feeds on the wall. Her coffee mug was shattered at her heels.

Fuguta and Yugi approached her slowly and turned their attention to the television screen in question. It was a news report recap with three people's images across the screen. An unfamiliar man and woman, and a very recognizable KaibaCorp employee. The bodyguard quickly snatched the remote from the receptionist station and cranked the volume for the whole lobby to hear.

"… _There has now been another fatality reported from Domino Medical Center in regards to the late-night crash off Namori Ave just outside Downtown Domino. The accident involved two vehicles that had collided and rolled down the embankment. An SUV, and a company car from the Kaiba Corporation._

The screen shifted from the reporter's face to the video footage of the tow trucks pulling the wrecked autos from the site. The black company car came out first, completely crumpled on the side and front. By now, everyone in the lobby had their attention glued to the screen.

"… _Police and paramedics were on the scene after a third vehicle pulled over to the side to wait out the storm. Genka Kanomi, the driver of the sport utility vehicle, succumbed to his injuries overnight. Last night at the scene, there was a Nori Welker, another passenger from the SUV. She was declared dead at the scene by the time the paramedics arrived. The other victim in the crash, Roland Thompson, was rushed to the intensive care ward for immediate treatment for his injuries. Mr. Thompson is one of the top business executives of the Kaiba Corporation._

 _So far, authorities are searching for anyone who may have knowledge to what happened to contact the Domino Police department and give their statements…._

Yugi looked around the lobby. No one had said a word, they were all too stunned and fixated on the news report. Yugi took the opportunity to duck down the corridor to call home.

"Grandpa? Is the shop open yet? No? Good. Go and turn on the TV. Channel 12….. You'll want to sit down…"

Yugi hung up with his grandfather a few moments later and returned to Fuguta's side. The man was now barking orders to the receptionists and anyone who handled the incoming phone calls.

"…No words, no opinions. When the reporters start calling, and they _will_ , you have nothing to comment. It is _not your place to comment_. The Kaiba Corporation will most likely release an official statement later today." He turned back to Yugi and let out a sigh. "This is _not_ good. With Mr. Kaiba on sabbatical and Roland Thompson incapable of work, this corporation is left vulnerable."

"Are you worried about a takeover?" Yugi asked. Fuguta started walking briskly towards the front doors, and Yugi ran to catch up to him.

"One can never be too cautious." Fuguta said as he reached his own company car. "Get in." Yugi quickly hopped into the passenger seat as the guard got behind the wheel. "Any serious competitor would know by now that Mr. Kaiba has been absent for almost two months now. While Mr. Mokuba is the rightful heir as Vice President, his position is still honorary, and everyone who follows corporate news would know Roland Thompson has been pulling double duty with Presidential work and his own." Fuguta frowned as the car pulled away from the parking lot. "We need to get in contact with Mr. Kaiba."

"Uh…but he's, well….away".

"I know."

"So …what are we going to do?" Yugi asked.

"First things first, we have to retrieve Mr. Mokuba…"

* * *

"I'm sorry, gentleman. You don't have the clearance to release Mokuba Kaiba from his studies."

"Why not?" Yugi asked.

"A student can only be released from school by a parent or guardian. If a third party is involved, prior notice from said parent or guardian is required." The secretary said, looking up. "Mokuba Kaiba's file states his legal guardian, his older brother Seto Kaiba, or his emergency contact, Roland Thompson."

"But this _is_ an emergency!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Ma'am…" Fuguta cleared his throat. "Mr. Kaiba is currently unreachable, and his emergency contact, also doubling as his guardian in his brother's absence, has just been in a vehicle crash last night. I _need_ to take Mokuba to the hospital."

"I'm sorry, sir. You don't have the clearance. It's a matter of security for the child." She said. "There have been instances where children have been abducted from schools by…"

Yugi stopped listening and turned away, towards the lobby of the school. _Damnit Kaiba…_

Fuguta looked down at her, and his eyes bore into hers from over the top of his sunglasses. "Ma'am. You don't have to lecture me on safety. I am a top member of Kaiba Corporation's security division, and have been for many years." He pulled out his drivers license and his KC identification badge. "I assure you, I am who I say I am. Mr. Mokuba knows who I am. I am someone he trusts. If you won't let me pull him from his classes, at least call him to this office so I can explain to him what has transpired."

The secretary looked back and forth between Yugi and Fuguta, and sighed. "Very well…"

Meanwhile, Mokuba sat in his literature class watching a film adaption of the novel the class finished reading the week before. For Mokuba, it wasn't a very exciting movie, but he forced himself to pay attention for fear of getting quizzed on the adaption differences later. He had his arms sprawled out on the desk and had his resting on them, appearing very disinterested.

Suddenly, the classroom phone rang, and Mrs. Elkridge moved to answer it quickly so it wouldn't disrupt the film any further.

"Hello?" She asked.

" _Is Mokuba Kaiba in class?"_ said the office secretary. Her voice sounded a bit nervous.

"Yes, he's here." She answered, and looked to where Mokuba was sitting.

" _He's needed in the main office. There's the chance he'll be leaving school, so have him bring his things."_

"Very well." Mrs. Elkridge hung up the phone and moved up the rows to crouch down next to Mokuba's desk.

It took a moment for Mokuba's attention to turn away from the video to her. "Uh, hi?"

"Mokuba," she whispered. "You're needed in the office."

Mokuba gulped. "I… I am?" He sat up. "Why?"

"they wouldn't say." His teacher replied. "She said you might have to leave, so take your things with you, ok?"

"O-Okay…" Mokuba said nervously as he gathered his backpack. "But… what about the video?"

"I'll give you the chance to catch up on what you missed one day after school." She replied, and got back to her feet.

Mokuba stood and quickly shuffled his way out of the classroom to the main office. _What's going on? Am I in trouble? I don't think I'm in trouble…_ He froze half way across the lobby. The glass doors of the office were visible, and he could clearly see Yugi sitting in a waiting chair off to the side. Fuguta was at the high counter and it looked like he was in deep discussion with the school Principal. Mokuba gulped. _Fuguta is here? And Yugi? What's going on?_ He took another step forward and his eyes went wide. _Was there some big corporate meeting I forgot about? The board is going to be pissed…_ But then his eyes landed on Yugi again. _No… that can't be it. Yugi wouldn't be here for that._

As Mokuba pushed the door to the office open, he could hear the tail end of the argument Fuguta was having with the principal.

"um…hi?" He said awkwardly, which got the two adults to hush and turn to him.

"Mokuba!" Yugi said with relief.

"Hi Yugi…" Mokuba said quietly, giving a curious look to Fuguta. "What's… what's going on?"

"Mr. Mokuba." Fuguta walked over. "I'm trying to pull you from class today, though the effort is being met with some difficulty." He shot the principal and secretaries a sideways glance that they couldn't see due to his glasses.

"What's wrong?" Mokuba blurted out. "Did I forget about something at HQ?"

"Mokuba," Yugi said softly, and he placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's about Roland."

Mokuba blinked. "R-Roland?" _Oh no… I knew something was wrong!_

"There's been an accident."

Mokuba's eyes went wide with fear. _An accident? When? Was that why I had to sleep over at Yugi's? Where's Roland? Is he okay?_ There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but all he could manage to say was, "Take me to him!"

Yugi sighed and looked on as Fuguta had snatched up some discharge papers from the secretary and started filling them out, ignoring their protests.

The three of them soon walked out of the school to Fuguta's vehicle. Yugi hopped into the passenger seat while Mokuba climbed into the back and set his bookbag on the seat beside him.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"Domino Medical." Fuguta said and roared the car to life.

* * *

Mokuba had never really been in a hospital before, so he watched at all the bustling activity around him as he and Yugi sat in waiting chairs off to the side of the room. Nurses and doctors rushed around, some with patients on stretchers, others clutching medical equipment and patient records. Fuguta stood at the desk trying to pry as much information from the nurse as he could. Mokuba let out a sigh and swung his legs. They hadn't been there very long, and he was already bored. The television screens played the Domino City weather reports, or some extremely dramatic soap opera that held the boy's interest for all of thirty seconds.

"How long are we gonna have to sit here?" He asked Yugi.

"I don't really know." Yugi sighed. "I remember when we had to take Gramps to the hospital last year for throwing his back out. He sat in the waiting room for over an hour before the doctors could see to him."

"An hour?" Mokuba groaned.

"Be patient, Mokuba." Yugi said softly. "For all we know, they could be tending to Roland as we speak."

Mokuba frowned. "How come you're here, Yugi? N-not that I'm not appreciating the support… it's just odd that you _and_ Fuguta were both picking me up from school.

"Well, Grandpa and I were worried since we couldn't get in contact with Roland last night or this morning, so I had Tristan take me to Kaiba Corp after I dropped you off. I was hoping someone there would have some answers. We… sort of figured out together, and rushed straight to the school to get you."

Mokuba frowned. "Who else knows?"

"At this point, probably everyone at Kaiba Corp… and Domino for that matter. It was all over the news this morning."

Mokuba paled, and leaned his head onto Yugi's shoulder. "Do… do you think he's okay?"

Yugi winced, and recalled the news footage of the accident scene. "I hope so. For your sake, and Kaiba's…."

They sat in relative silence for a while longer. Fuguta had given up with the nurse and had taken the seat on Mokuba's other side. His phone was out and in his hands as he sent emails back to Corporate. Mokuba occasionally tried read them from the corners of his vision, but there was too much of a glare from his viewpoint. Again, he sighed and slumped in his seat. _It's gonna be a long day…_

"Mr. Kaiba?"

Mokuba looked up to see a doctor pulling off his face cap and gloves. He had a stressed expression on his face. He stood up from his seat, and Fuguta and Yugi followed. "Yes?"

"I've been informed you are here to inquire about a Roland Thompson, who was admitted late last night?"

Mokuba glanced nervously to Yugi and Fuguta before nodding.

"I am Dr. Kyoto, one of the chief medics here at Domino Medical. Mr. Thompson has been assigned to my team's care." He cleared his throat. "How much are you aware of what happened?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Not much. There was some accident last night."

"Mr. Thompson's vehicle and another were found down an embankment off Namori Ave. We aren't exactly sure of the time of the crash. So far, your man is the lucky one out of the three persons involved. Neither occupant of the other vehicle survived."

Mokuba swallowed hard. "Is Roland gonna be okay?"

Dr. Kyoto sighed. "We aren't sure, but we've done all we could. He's suffered from several broken bones, and a hit to the head. He's out of surgery now, and we've cleaned him up. You can see him, if you'd like… but I ask that your visit be very brief."

"O-Ookay."

Yugi put his arm around Mokuba's shoulder as the three followed the doctor to a private patients room down the hall.

Fuguta was the first to step into Roland's room. Mokuba followed and walked right up to the bed. His stomach twisted as he looked at all the vital-monitoring equipment hooked to his guardian. He didn't know how to read the screens, but the frequent, consistent bleeps of the heart monitor gave Mokuba a slight bit of comfort.

"R-Roland?" Mokuba asked softly. Roland appeared to be sleeping, with his head turned to the other side.

He didn't wake.

"Roland?"

Yugi turned to the doctor, who was standing in the doorway. "Is he…unconscious?"

Kyoto nodded.

"For how long?" Fuguta asked, more like demanded.

"We can't say." The doctor shrugged. "Some patients rebound in a day or two, and then it's the physical injuries that they have to hurdle through. For others, weeks. Everyone is different."

"Weeks…" Mokuba's voice cracked, and he ran his fingers over one of Roland's hands resting on top of the blanket.

"We will be monitoring him very closely, Mr. Kaiba." Kyoto said. "He is in good hands here. Once he wakes and we can assess the rest of his situation, he'll be on a much clearer road to recovery."

 _If he wakes…_ Mokuba thought to himself, and bit down on his lip.

Yugi sighed softly and mumbled more to himself than to Mokuba. "I hope he's got good insurance…"

Mokuba perked up at the comment, and turned quickly to the doctor. "Please…give him the best treatment you can offer. Expense is no question. Bill everything to Seto Kaiba at Kaiba Corp."

Kyoto nodded and made some notations on one of Roland's charts.

 _It's the least we can do, and I bet Seto would demand the same thing…_ Mokuba sighed. _Of course, this is all Seto's fault that this happened in the first place. Who knows how long Roland is going to be stuck here..._

As Mokuba wiped a stray tear from his eye, he leaned closer to Yugi for comfort, and he could vaguely hear a hushed conversation between Fuguta and the doctor over potential treatments and recovery options, as well as the more grueling details of Roland's injuries. The longer they talked, the more Mokuba's mind tuned into it, and an unsettling feeling started to churn in his gut. He was relying on his brother's right-hand-man for everything; Roland was his new guardian and corporate advisor. With him out of the picture, Mokuba was all alone.

 _Without Seto, and now Roland… what am I gonna do?_


	14. Unexpected Ally

**A/N: Hi everyone! Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season! I'm back, and hoping to stick to an every-two-week update schedule, if I can.**

Chapter 14: Unexpected Ally

"…I'm really sorry, Yugi. I know you've been planning this game night for a while." Mokuba said into his phone as he sat bundled up on a bench outside of his middle school. The wind was not helping with the cold, but Mokuba didn't retreat inside. His ride, though late, would be here soon enough.

" _Are you sure you won't be able to make any of it?"_ Yugi asked on the other side of the line. _"Bakura was even going to come, and bring along some of his monster world figures. He wanted to help you create your own character and everything._ "

"I mean… I can try." Mokuba sighed sadly. More than anything, he was looking forward to learning a new game. It wasn't often he even got to hang out with Ryou Bakura at all. "I'm just worried I won't be leaving HQ until it's really late, and I wouldn't want to put you all out just for waiting up for me."

" _I know this probably goes without saying, and don't curse me out over the phone or anything. But, you're not your brother. You don't have to work until late in the evening. On a Friday._ "

Mokuba snorted. "You don't have to tell me twice, Yugi. If it were any other Friday, I'd be running out that door in an instant. But…today's the big day."

" _Day one of the corporate reign of Mokuba Kaiba?"_

Mokuba couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. "You say that like I'm some king."

" _Well, you're the big man—er, well, kid in charge, now."_

"Only until Seto comes back…or Roland recovers. Whichever is first, I guess." Mokuba looked up to see a familiar black car coming through the parking lot. "Hey, I gotta go, Yugi. My ride is here. Give uh… well, say hi to your friends for me. I'll try my hardest to come. If you guys don't hear from me by…seven-ish, assume I won't make it, okay?"

" _Okay. Take care, Mokuba. And good luck on your first real day!"_ The cell phone beeped quietly signaling the end of the phone call.

"Mr. Mokuba, sir."

Mokuba looked up to see his driver standing beside the car with the back door open and ready for its passenger. "Hi Wilson." Mokuba greeted as he stood from his seat and walked across the lawn to the car. "How are things?"

"Pretty well, sir." Wilson nodded as Mokuba climbed in. The door was closed, and he walked around the vehicle to the driver's seat. Once inside and buckled in, the car roared to life. "How was school?"

"Meh." Mokuba shrugged. "Today's Friday. Pretty much means a day full of quizzes, reviews, and presentations."

"I see." Wilson nodded as the car pulled away from the curb, and turned onto the main road. "Do you have lots of homework today, too?"

"Some. But that's the joy of Friday, Wilson. I have Saturday and Sunday to work on it, too." Mokuba replied, and turned his gaze to the window, watching the city zoom by. "So….."

"So?" the driver glanced to Mokuba through the rearview mirror.

"How much am I going to regret going to HQ today?"

"I don't know what you mean, Sir."

"Sure you do." Mokuba huffed. "Everyone at Kaiba Corp knows today is the official day that I take over for Roland, who's also taking over for Seto. That makes me 'the big cheese'."

"Big cheese…?"

Mokuba laughed. "Sorry. I was watching a gangster movie last night. I didn't mean…actual cheese."

"I see." Wilson returned his gaze to the road. "To answer your question, today has been pretty mundane so far. Mr. Fuguta has been assuming temporary command for the day, and Director Garwin, once he returns this afternoon, will join you in your office to go over paperwork."

"Oooh. Yipee…" Mokuba twirled a finger. Even though he didn't know much about the man, there was something about Director Garwin, KaibaCorp's head of business relations, that made Mokuba cringe. The man could be the nicest of the four directors, but he had a mustache and wore pinstripe suits. Too much of a reminder of Gozaburo Kaiba. "How long do I have to sit with him?"

"However long it takes?" Wilson replied.

Mokuba paled. "I'm DOOMED."

"Now you mustn't think that way, Mr. Mokuba. I've known Director Garwin personally for several years. You have little to fear."

"If you say so."

It wasn't long before the limo pulled up outside the front of the corporate skyscraper. Mokuba stepped outside and glanced up towards the top floors. He was a bundle of nerves. The last time he felt this way about entering the business was when he and Seto were mere children, summoned by Gozaburo, for a lesson he didn't quite understand at the time. But that was years ago. Gozaburo has been long gone. This was, is, Seto's empire now. No, _his_ and Seto's.

Before he had the chance to turn back, the car started up again, and pulled away from the curb.

 _Well…so much for that._ Mokuba sighed. He gripped the strap of his backpack over his shoulder and walked through the door. The sight that greeted him was nothing to worry him. The lobby was bustling as normal. The receptionists smiled and gave him small waves as they usually did when Mokuba was walking through without his older brother. Many of the other men and women working in the lobby were busy with their own tasks, and rather than draw attention to himself, Mokuba hurried over to the elevator. The sooner he got to his office, the sooner he could figure out a plan without too many people stopping him for any sort of leadership advice.

The elevator took him to the executive floor, and Mokuba was surprised to find Keiko not at her desk. "huh." He said to himself. "I guess she's in a meeting." With a shrug, he walked through the set of glass doors to the executive wing, and went to his office door. To his surprise, the door was left ajar. _Is…someone in here?_ He slowly pushed the door open and blinked. The room was empty.

"Oh." He said out loud, and set his backpack down beside his desk. "I guess the tech guys forgot to close the door." He noticed a note left on the desk from the head of the company's IT department.

"Ooh, they set up my computer!" Mokuba exclaimed, reading the note. Eagerly, he plopped down into his desk chair and followed the instructions on the note to log into the desktop, and set up his password. _Now if only I could pick my own username, too. 'MK002' is just so… lame._

Several password creation attempts later, Mokuba's desktop showed up. He was relieved that the entire screen wasn't covered in obtrusive icons. _Now….to get rid of this gastly blue background…_

Mokuba didn't quite realize how much time had passed as he tinkered through various programs and settings on his new computer, testing the limited options and how easily he could crack through the corporate restrictions. He was so intent on his 'hacking' that he didn't even realize someone was standing at the door, and the knock on the doorframe startled him.

"Mr. Mokuba?"

Mokuba turned his head towards the door and smiled. "Hey Keiko!"

The secretary smiled and waked into the room. "How are you getting on?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Well, I've only been here for…" he glanced at the computer time. "Oh, an hour. Wow, that went fast. Anyway…, I've just been fiddling here on the computer, getting used to everything, I guess."

She took a seat in one of the soft cushion chairs across the room. "I've seen you on Mr. Kaiba's computer in the past. Is yours that different?"

Mokuba chuckled, and spun around in his chair. "Yeah…but Seto passcode locks most of the content on his computer. This one's all mine…" he gave a giddy smile and started clicking on different icons on the screen. "I've pretty much opened all of the programs."

Keiko nodded, and looked around the room. "The office came out very nice."

"Thanks!" Mokuba smiled. "Yugi helped in picking out some of the furniture."

"Yugi?" she asked. "O-oh, Yugi Muto. Well, I'll certainly say, your selections are….interesting. What exactly do you call this chair I'm sitting in?"

"A studio lounger." Mokuba smirked. "It was technically in a university dorm catalog, but it was way more my style compared to the stuffy looking chairs I had to pick from otherwise."

"Youthful, but not _too_ youthful." She smiled. "It's very comfortable. I can see you having many meetings in here."

Mokuba's smile instantly frowned. "I'm… not so sure about that." His hands started to fidget in his lap. "I'm… I'm scared."

"Scared?" Keiko sat at the edge of her seat. "Of what?"

"Everyone." Mokuba said quietly. "You weren't here at the time, Keiko… but I was, when Seto first took over this company. He was only two…three years older than me now. I remember how almost everyone in this building regarded him, treated him. Seto has had immense training in academics and business under our stepfather. Seto understood how companies worked. And yet he was still looked at as an ignorant child, a spoiled brat. No matter how much he proved himself, these men would hardly listen. Eventually, it drove him to replace nearly the entire staff. The Big Five…that is, the original board of directors, were the last to go after they betrayed us to Pegasus."

With a sigh, he continued, "I'm not Seto… I'm younger, inexperienced in all of this; not to mention, I'm still in middle school! Why would anyone even want to listen to me?"

"Because you're our Vice President. And you know more about your brother's corporate empire than anyone else presently here."

"But I'm also just a kid!" Mokuba cried. "What if… what if they try to turn against me?"

Keiko stood and moved towards Mokuba, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You have more friends here than you think, Mr. Mokuba." She said softly. "I don't just mean me."

"But…we can't truly be friends, if I'm your boss, right?"

Keiko raised a brow. "Says who? Gozaburo Kaiba? Or perhaps your older brother? Neither of them are here. And you have every right to form whatever relationship you choose with those you are surrounded by."

"Really?"

"Really." She replied, and turned towards the door. "I suppose it's best I actually get back to work. Can't have us wasting _too_ much company time, right?"

Mokuba frowned, and put on his best 'serious' expression. "Yeah, I suppose." His face turned into a frown. "Damn, this is already hard." With a sigh, he asked, "So…when is Director Garwin coming?"

"Very soon." Keiko replied, and quickly glanced at her watch. "I'm actually surprised he hasn't come up already. Something must have come up. If you have any homework from school, I suppose you can start on it while you wait."

Mokuba blinked, and glanced to his backpack. "Uh, are you giving your boss orders?" he asked, with a hint of glee in his voice.

"Well, consider it advice." She smiled, and left the room to return to her desk.

With a half shrug, Mokuba stood and stretched. He was about to move to the cushioned lounger with his backpack when a small window appeared on his computer monitor. "…huh? What's this?"

The window was a download, and Mokuba noticed it to be a large one by the size of it. But, his curiosity wasn't going to be put out for too long. Despite the size of the file, it was downloading at a good pace. He didn't recognize the name of the file, or what server it was downloading from. But, the corporate IT had just set up his computer. It couldn't have fallen vulnerable to some sort of malware already, could it? Some hacker from a rival company? A tech genius out for a pay day? None of those options sounded plausible.

"uh, Keiko?" Mokuba called, and poked his head out into the secretary station. "There's something downloading to my computer. Do you know anything about it?"

Keiko looked up from her paperwork and shook her head. "It might be upgrades to the servers? IT has been at it all day."

"Oh. Okay." Mokuba shrugged, and turned back, returning to his own work space. A quick glance at the screen showed the download still in progress, about halfway through. To pass the time, he grabbed his backpack and moved to one of his comfier lounge chairs. _Maybe if I get enough of this done, I can still make it to Yugi's later for what's left of game day._

It was a short time later that Mokuba heard a faint chime coming from his desk. _Oh, I bet that download is done. I wonder what it is._ After clicking through the 'download complete' boxes on his screen, he was back to looking at his home desktop, and at the bottom of his line-up of icons sat a new file folder that matched the name of the download file.

 _BSNKVR001_

Mokuba scratched the back of his head trying to figure out what the letters stood for. When he came up with absolutely nothing, he decided to bite the bullet and click on the icon. _Okay…what secrets are you hiding in here….?_

 _Wait… what?_ Mokuba blinked in confusion. The folder was empty. He closed it out, and reopened it. _How could such a massive download not contain any information on file?_

There was a knock on the door frame that made Mokuba jump.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir. I'm sorry I'm late."

Mokuba swallowed. "Director Garwin. Uh, come in?" Letting the file issue go for now, he moved away from his computer to the lounge chairs and gestured for the businessman to follow.

Unknown to Mokuba, when he moved out of view to the computer, the webcam on his monitor turned itself on. The indicator light blinked several times before turning itself off again.

* * *

"I don't believe I should have sat down…" Garwin admitted, and took a closer look at the odd chair he found himself sitting in.

"Uh…why?"

The older man chuckled. "I… don't think I'll be able to get back out of it." He saw Mokuba trying not to snigger behind his hands. "Hey now, don't laugh. One day you'll be as old as me, and you'll find it difficult to get out of these…strange seats."

"I think I've got _ways_ to go." Mokuba cleared his throat. "So…uh, what's this meeting about?"

"Well." He began. "The other directors were more adamant of throwing you into the piles of paperwork and projects that have been thrown aside the last several days. I think they've forgotten that you are not Mr. Kaiba—" he paused, realizing how silly that sounded, and corrected himself, "—well, Mr. _Seto_ Kaiba, and—"

"Are you saying I can't cut this?" Mokuba asked. _Does EVERYONE know about my own insecurities?_

"No." Garwin sighed. "I'm merely saying, the other directors may have some unrealistic expectations for you. That is why I'm here."

Mokuba made a face. _These board of directors are starting to sound like the Big Five all over again…_ "So… you don't share their opinions?"

Garwin rubbed his temple, "Mr. Kaiba, I—"

"please don't." Mokuba swallowed. "I…. when you call me that…it sounds like you're really talking to my brother… or _wanting_ to talk to my brother. Or worse… my stepfather. I…" he hesitated. "I'm not so formal. I'm… I'm just, uh… well, Mokuba."

The business director tilted his head quizzically. "Would you prefer I call you by your first name?" Mokuba nodded. "Well, I can't exactly do that in good conscious. You're still my employer…one of them."

"Then stick a 'mister' in front of it. That's what Roland and Fuguta, a lot of the others do." Mokuba replied.

"That, I can do." Garwin cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I believe you can, and will become a great leader to us all. However, you are not quite there yet. "

Mokuba opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. _Is he suggesting what I think he is?_ "Well… if you aren't throwing me under the bus. I guess that means you want to help?"

Garwin nodded, and formed a small smile on his face. "After all, none of us are sure how long Mr. Kaiba will be away." He paused, seeing how Mokuba's facial expression and posture change for the worst, though he couldn't understand why. "…and with Mr. Thompson in such critical condition, you could be in charge for quite some time. That can be a very daunting for you. This entire situation has been far from your control, and you are the one that has been affected the most."

"But… how do you plan to help me? And won't the other directors get their say in all of this?"

"They do, and they will. However, I'm the most senior member of the Board. They can protest all they want, but in the end, they'll see this is the right course of action." He replied. "You see, sir, I am heavily invested in the success of this corporation. And a contributing factor to said success lies in the healthy body and mind of its leader. Knowledge is power, after all. Therefore, I will invest some of my time into making sure you are properly prepared to take on the role you have now been given."

Mokuba was almost speechless. This was not at all how he had envisioned this meeting to go. At all. "You're uh… not what I expected." He said. "I'm not gonna lie. I was expecting you to be this mean grump who wouldn't want to listen to anything I say. Are you really okay with taking orders from a little kid?"

With a few struggles, Garwin made it out of his seat. There was a file folder he brought with him that was placed beside the chair. He picked it up, and walked over to Mokuba. "You are not a 'little kid', Mr. Mokuba. You are the younger brother of Seto Kaiba, yes. But you are also a smart, clever boy, one who has also accomplished much at a young age, and will accomplish far more in the days, weeks, even years to come. And besides, you're…twelve? Thirteen? I'd say, you're practically a young man."

Mokuba snorted. "Don't tell Seto. You'll make him feel old."

Garwin cleared his throat, and placed his folder on the desk. "I believe Mr. Kaiba will be pleased that I hold you in such high regard. Now. Onto the matter at hand." He motioned for Mokuba to come over.

Mokuba sat down in his desk chair and wiggled the mouse to wake the computer back up. "So, tutoring time, huh?"

"yes, sir." Garwin opened the folder and pulled out several different documents. "Lets begin."

* * *

"I never knew how much I didn't know until today." Mokuba groaned, and leaned back against his chair. With a rub of his eyes, he paused. "That didn't make much sense, did it?"

Garwin chuckled and perched himself on the edge of the desk. "We covered a lot of basic material in such short hours."

"I wish I had Seto's brain… these charts and facts and figures; statistics and budgets; my noodle feels fried." Mokuba reached over the desk and checked the time on his phone. _6:30… maybe we can stop for the day. I'm tired….and I still wanted to go to Yugi's._ "So uh, how much more are we going to go over?"

"Well, let's get your corporate email set up tonight. This way, Monday morning once you've left your academics for the day, we can go through a full afternoon properly."

"How long will that take?" Mokuba asked.

Garwin shrugged. "A few minutes. Is there somewhere you needed to be? I know I've kept you here in the office longer than you would normally stay."

"Well… a few friends of mine invited me over." Mokuba admitted shyly. It seemed strange for him to admit it to the business man. "I hope you don't mind."

"Why should I mind?" Garwin asked. "We all have lives that we lead. You can't be expected to spend every waking moment in this office. Especially on a Friday."

Mokuba stared at him as if he had three heads. "Clearly, you know nothing about my brother." He said, "Well, let's get this over with." With a few clicks of the mouse, he opened the corporate mail application, and followed Garwin's instruction to set up his new password. When the inbox loaded up, Mokuba let out a sigh of relief that he didn't quite realize he was holding in.

"Sir?"

Mokuba flushed slightly. "Sorry. I uh, was expecting this to be exploding with emails for the last few days…or weeks… or," he gulped, thinking back all the way, "months."

"Ha." Garwin mused. "It will be by the time you arrive Monday afternoon. Though, I doubt it will look as frightening as your brother's."

"Well that's a relief. I think." Mokuba tried a smile, then stood to stretch. "I think we'll call it a day." He took the stack of papers given to him during the tutoring session and placed them gently into his backpack.

"Very good, Mr. Mokuba." Garwin stood and took his folder. "I shall see you Monday."

"Okay." Mokuba replied, and watched the director head for the door. "Uh, Garwin?"

"Yes?" The man asked, turning back.

"Thanks. For this." Mokuba said. "I was really scared about today. I've always had Seto and Roland to fall back on when I was put in some form of charge. This is my first big deal on my own. I wasn't sure what you had planned for me today. I've been so used to being on my guard after what we all went through with the previous Board of directors. But, you're a cool guy." Mokuba gave a small smile, and joined the older man by the door. "I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy days to teach me."

"Of course." Garwin nodded. "Enjoy your weekend, Mr. Mokuba." He left the office and walked down towards the elevator.

Mokuba turned around and took one last look at his work space before switching off the light. _Today went better than I anticipated, but I've still got a long way to go._ He sighed. _Still, it's nice to know I've got a new ally on my side. I can only hope the other Board members become just as understanding._ After another moment, he closed the door, and followed Director Garwin towards the elevators.

About an hour after Mokuba had gone, the dark office room suddenly had a bright glow from the computer monitor waking itself up. The webcam blinked again as several new files began to download into the folder marked ' _BSNKVR001'_.


	15. Ghost in the Machine

Chapter 15: Ghost in the Machine

"Hey Mokuba…" Keiko smiled as she poked her head into the boy's office door that Monday afternoon. Her smile didn't last long though. Mokuba was sitting at his desk with his backpack resting against his leg. His arms were crossed onto the surface and his head was resting on them. Looking at his face, she wondered if he was bored…or depressed. "Mokuba?" She asked.

At the second calling of his name, he picked up his head and looked over at her. "Oh. Hi Keiko. C'mon in."

"Thanks." She replied and stepped into the office. Rather than sitting down in one of the lounge chairs, she walked over to the desk and perched herself on the edge. "Is something wrong, kiddo?"

"It's nothing."

She frowned and tilted her head. "Somehow… it doesn't look like nothing." She said and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You want to talk about it?" She asked quietly."

Mokuba gave a heavy shrug. "I had a bad day at school."

"How bad?"

Mokuba shrugged again. "I don't really want to discuss it, Keiko." He said, laying his head back down on his arms. In truth, several people have been inquiring about Seto: where he still was, when he planned on returning, and more importantly, who Mokuba's current caregiver was. Mokuba sighed. He didn't like the term 'caregiver'. To him, it implied he was ill, and he needed a nurse. Still, the inquiries left him rattled. There was no telling when, or _if_ Roland would ever recover.

Worse than that was the fact that there has still been no news from the technicians about connecting to the dimensional pod. Seto was still missing somewhere in the cosmos. With each day that passed, it became increasingly difficult to cope, and the constant lying to nearly everyone was not offering him any reprieve. One of Mokuba's biggest fears was if it was revealed that he was practically living alone. What would happen if he was taken away to live with his old relatives? He and Seto were abandoned by their own family after the deaths of their parents and dumped into an old orphanage. He couldn't bear to think about what would happen if those greedy people got a hold of him (and his wealth) all over again. Or… worse than that even…if he was sent away to live with one of _Gozaburo_ 's relatives…. Would they be as cruel as his stepfather?

"Well, if you insist." Keiko replied, and her voice shook Mokuba from his thoughts. "Just promise me something, okay, Kiddo?"

Mokuba blinked. "…what?"

"Promise me you won't become a closed-off husk like your big brother, hmm? I don't think I could take answering to _two_ crab-apples." She winked.

"Ooo, you did not just call Seto a crab-apple!" Mokuba made a face, and she matched it with a smirk of her own.

"Maybe I did. But he's not here to call me out on it. And I won't tell him if you won't."

"My lips are sealed." He tried to smile. He looked towards the computer and shook the mouse to wake up the screen. The time on the monitor's bottom corner read 3:42. "Um, isn't Garwin going to give me a lesson this afternoon?"

Keiko frowned and shook her head. "Not today. He called up here about an hour before you got out of school. There was a family emergency. He informed me that your lessons would resume tomorrow instead."

"Oh." Mokuba said. "Well, what do I have slated for the rest of the afternoon?"

"Well, today was light regarding your schedule. Your lesson with Garwin was slated in from 3-4:30. Afterwards, there is a short gathering with the advertising department over the new posters for the new Kaiba Land attraction."

"Huh. That doesn't sound so bad, considering Seto put me in charge of a lot of Kaiba Land stuff in the past." Mokuba paused and looked to Keiko. "Do… do you come to the meeting?"

Keiko smiled. "If you want me to, though this probably won't be a gathering where you need me to take notes. I think you're just going over design elements." She pushed herself off the desk. "Tell you what. If I can get enough of my work done by the time the meeting starts, I'll come and sit in quietly."

Mokuba nodded and managed to smile. "Okay. I think I'm going to get some homework done beforehand, since Garwin isn't here today. If I need you, I'll holler."

Once Keiko left the room, Mokuba pushed the mousepad aside and started pulling out his textbooks. He didn't have an overflowing amount of work to do and was confident that by the time the meeting was to start, he should be finished. But, just to be on the safe side, he pulled his phone from his pocket and set an alarm. Then, he got to work.

The quiet was welcoming as Mokuba plowed through a lot of his homework. The history section he was supposed to outline was surprisingly short. The reading comprehension questions on his literature assignment were easy to get through as well. Now, he was buried in his math workbook. This was the bulk of his workload. After a while, he had to roll his chair back and stretch. Math wasn't his best subject and staring at a page full of numbers was starting to make his eyes buggy. _I need a break._ He drummed his fingers along the surface of the desk and decided to wake his computer back up. _Maybe I'll take a peek at some of my emails._

His face fell the moment his inbox loaded on the screen. "Thirty-five messages?!" Mokuba cried out. _That's way more than I was expecting. It'll take me forever to try and sort through this mess!_ His eyes started to scan the subject lines, and before he could click on the first message, the alarm on his phone went off.

 _Well, I guess I'll just have to deal with this once I come back._ After another quick stretch, he got up and left the room.

"hey Keiko." He said as he approached her station. "Are you coming?"

She shook her head sadly. "Sorry kiddo. I've been dealing with one phone call after another. You'll have to run solo on this. But don't frown. It won't be that bad."

* * *

Mokuba walked out of the conference room with a smile on his face. Keiko was right. It wasn't that bad. In fact, he found it refreshing and…daresay… _fun_. He and the team discussed different design themes for an upcoming attraction. The exhibit in question wouldn't be complete and launch-ready for at least a year: a new kind of virtual dueling simulator where kids could upload their decks and duel against different programmed duelists. Some, regular NPC-stye characters with rotating decks, and even more famous duelists with deck information gathered from the Battle City tournament. Overall, it would be a step-up-improvement over dueling a robot with pre-programmed decks.

When his elevator stopped at the executive floor, Mokuba was saddened to find that Keiko wasn't at her station any longer. He glanced at the clock on the wall. 5:15. She had gone home for the day. His day was approaching an end, too. On average, he had been trying to keep to leaving around 5:30 every day so his driver had some sense of normal schedule.

He still had fifteen minutes to kill. _I guess I can go attack those emails. I just hope I don't have twice that many more to read now._ Mokuba shuffled back into his office and was surprised to find his monitor still lit. He had been out of the office for a good forty-five minutes. His computer should have gone to sleep-mode a while ago. He frowned and sat down at the desk. However, when he looked at the screen, his eyes nearly bugged out.

There were thirty-five open windows stacked on top of each other. Each one represented a previously unread message from his inbox.

"What. The. Hell?" Mokuba's jaw dropped. He didn't remember opening that many windows. And he certainly didn't have time to _read_ every piece of corporate mail. Yet, here they all were. Everything was marked as 'read'. Going even further through each window and closing each one out as he went through himself, he found that not only were some of these messages somehow read, but replies were also drafted and _sent_ back to the original poster with his own signature at the bottom.

"This…. This is impossible!" Mokuba exclaimed. "I've never read any of these! Or responded! There's no way I could have come up with these kinds of replies on my own. I don't know anything about budget proposals or account information… or what time to schedule visits with other business partners! And who the hell is Jericho Kunomi, and why is there a meeting penned in with him Wednesday at four?!"

Mokuba blinked and slowly backed away from the computer. This was insane…and terrifying. Something was clearly wrong with his computer. He took out his phone and took images of his screen, just in case everything deleted itself by the time he returned in the morning. He needed something to show Fuguta and IT for proof. After repocketing his phone, he quickly shoved all his schoolwork back into his backpack and fled the room.

It wasn't until Mokuba was safely in the back of the limo that he pulled out his phone and looked at the photos he took. It unnerved him how something like this occurred. Worse was the unknown. Did someone from another company hack into his computer at the precise moment that it was at its most vulnerable during set-up? Was he being watched? Or did someone merely sneak into the office and manually type out every one of those responses? There were too many questions, and no answers.

Mokuba made a quick call to Fuguta over the matter, and then swiped back to his contact list before putting the ear to the phone.

" _Hello? Game Shop."_

"Yugi!"

" _Oh hi, Mokuba!"_ Yugi's voice said merrily on the other end. _"What's up?"_

"Uh, nothing too much." Mokuba said, peeking in front of him towards the driver. With what was going on at HQ, he wasn't sure if someone in his employ was the mastermind. Best not to reveal anything, just in case. It sucked to be paranoid. "I was wondering if you were free. I uh… want to talk."

" _Sure."_ Yugi said. " _It's just me tonight. Grandpa is having dinner with a friend of his. The shop closes soon, and then I'll have to make dinner."_

"Don't bother." Mokuba said. "I'll bring in take-out. I just left HQ a few minutes ago. Be over soon?"

" _Okay. See you then."_

* * *

"So, what's going on?" Yugi asked. He and Mokuba sat around the living room table with their Burger World carry-out spread out.

Mokuba took a few more bites of his cheeseburger and a long drink of his soda. He wasn't exactly sure how to go about explaining this. With a sigh, he put his cup down on. "Do uh… do you believe in ghosts?"

Yugi blinked. Once, twice, three times, and then gave Mokuba a 'seriously' look. "Did you really just ask a guy who once shared his body with the spirit of a five-thousand-year-old Pharaoh if he believed in supernatural?"

Mokuba's mouth pressed into a thin line. "Okay. Yes, that sounded stupid. Other than the power of the millennium items and all that stuff related to them. In ordinary life with ordinary, mundane circumstances, do you believe in ghosts and haunted stuff?"

"Well, I suppose so." Yugi shrugged. "It's hard to not believe because of my experiences. Why? What's going on?"

Mokuba took a deep breath. "I think Kaiba Corp is haunted."

Yugi couldn't help but laugh, though his younger friend's pleading face made him stop. "What… makes you think that?"

"Okay. You remember on Friday before I came over for the end of game day, that Director Garwin helped set up my new corporate email and stuff, right?" Yugi nodded in response, so he continued. "Well, I went to check it today before going to a meeting with some staff. I had over thirty unread messages in my inbox. I didn't have time to read _any_ of them, and when I got back a while later, _all_ of them were not only _read_ , but the necessary ones all even had responses sent out with my signature! And I didn't write any of it. It was really, really, creepy."

Yugi frowned. "So…someone was reading your emails and crafting responses?"

"Yeah! And they were good ones, too! Some of them were on matters I didn't know anything about! If I wasn't so weirded out by all of this, I would feel excited that my computer makes me sound so smart."

"That's…. hmm." Yugi said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Interesting. Very interesting. But, what made you want to come to me?"

"I guess…" Mokuba started, "since you had all of that experience with weird stuff, you might know what to do. Or suggest."

"Well, I highly doubt you've got a hidden spirit in _your_ head that takes over and becomes a corporate genius without your knowledge."

"Is that what it was like for you and the Pharaoh?"

Yugi nodded. "it was, at least at first. Whenever I was in a bad situation, or someone had committed a wrong against one of my friends, Yami would take over and dish out a penalty game involving the shadow realm. When it was all over, I generally didn't remember what had transpired. That was before we really formed a united bond and shared our minds."

"But your situation sounds different." Yugi continued. "The millennium items are gone now. And I highly doubt you've suddenly acquired some weird spiritual split personality." Yugi finished with a frown. "I'd say, whatever is going on, it's something far beyond my expertise."

Mokuba left Yugi's home later without any sort of reassurance. If this was truly a technical issue, then only Kaiba Corp's best computer technicians could fix it.

Hopefully.

And Mokuba held onto that shred of hope the following day. The constant worry over the state of his new computer kept him distracted throughout all of his classes. With each passing hour, he grew increasingly anxious. What would they find? Would they even be finished dissecting every program and code to figure out what was going on?

"Ah, good afternoon, Mr. Mokuba." Fuguta greeted as Mokuba stepped off the elevator.

"Well?" Mokuba asked as he peeked into the office. He was surprised to find it empty. That worried him. _Were they done already?_

Fuguta didn't need an explanation to the unspoken question. "They finished going through your computer and files an hour ago, and found nothing out of the ordinary."

"They believe me though, don't they?" Mokuba asked. "I didn't make this up!"

Fuguta shook his hands. "It's not that they don't believe you, sir. There was simply no foreign malware or virus on your computer, and the Kaiba Corp firewall has not been breached.

"Then what caused it?"

"There are no answers. However…" Fuguta motioned for Mokuba to come to the desk. There was a small stick plugged into the back of the monitor. "The technicians did install this to monitor what _does_ go on."

"I'm being watched?"

"Not you per say. It's monitoring the computer, looking for any signs of breach or foul play. Should it appear that an unauthorized user was in control of the machine, security would activate the webcam and we would get a visual of the perpetrator."

Mokuba was about to comment further but there was a knock on the doorway. Director Garwin took a step inside holding a file folder.

"Mr. Mokuba, sir. It's time for our meeting."

"R-right." He said, and nodded to Fuguta, giving him permission to leave.

Mokuba felt guilty knowing he was having a hard time concentrating on what Director Garwin was saying. Every so often, his eyes would shift from the papers before him towards the desk where his computer sat idle. Either Garwin didn't seem to notice, or he did his best to ignore it. Unfortunately, the ignorance could only last so long. Near the end of their meeting, Garwin had had enough.

"Mokuba." The older man frowned at the lack of response. Mokuba was looking back at the desk again. With a sigh, he spoke louder. "Sir."

Mokuba's head snapped upright and he looked back to the director seated across from him. "…yes?"

"Were you even listening to a word I was saying?"

"I was. I swear."

"Then why do you keep looking over there?" Garwin pointed to the desk.

Mokuba sighed. "There's been a security breach yesterday. It still has me a bit riled up."

Garwin set his paperwork down and leaned forward in his seat. "What security breach? We were never notified."

"That's because I asked Fuguta and the techs to keep it quiet until they investigated. Somehow, someone got a hold of my computer yesterday and was going through my inbox. But there wasn't any weird programs or malware found today when they went through my drives. I can't help but think someone snuck in here and did it in person."

Garwin frowned. "That's a very serious accusation. Who would do such a thing?"

"I dunno." Mokuba shrugged. "I don't want to think I have enemies here. I know I'm not as smart and prepared at this job than Seto…" he trailed off.

"We'll get to the bottom of this mystery." Garwin said as he forced himself out of the lounge chair. "I think though, perhaps we should cut our time short for today. You are clearly dividing your attention, and I've already loaded you with a lot of information that you need to take home and study."

"Yay… more homework!" Mokuba said sarcastically. He too rose to his feet and placed his new papers into a folder with other documents Garwin gave him on their last meeting.

"Look on the bright side, sir. I'm not grading you." He said with a forced smile. "We'll continue this lesson tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay. See-ya." Mokuba waved him goodbye and watched as he left the office. Now alone, he moved back to his desk and shook the mouse to wake up the computer. His heart then sank. Everything he customized Friday was gone, and the boring blue background welcomed him; a by-product of IT taking the computer apart and putting it back together. With a sigh, he went back through the settings and tried to put everything back the way he had it before.

Unknown to Mokuba though, the small stick that IT placed in the back of the monitor turned itself off. Then, the webcam light blinked on, and Mokuba nearly jumped out of his chair when a black dialog box suddenly appeared, and the blinking cursor started to spell out a message.

 _ **Hello Mokuba.**_

"GAH!"

 _ **There's no need to scream.**_

Mokuba's jaw dropped. "Did…. Did you _hear_ that?"

 _ **Yes I did! You're quite loud, in fact. Could you turn down the microphone control on your external speakers?**_

Mokuba was frozen in place. "My computer…. Is talking to me. I've officially lost it." He said out-loud to himself, then slapped a hand to his forehead. "Ugh. I guess you heard that too, huh?" He asked, and his hand moved on the speaker controls beside the monitor.

 _ **Yes. That's okay, though. It could be weirder. Your computer could be talking back. Oh wait…**_

Mokuba frowned. "Okay, what's going on? What—" he gasped, and suddenly things were starting to make sense. "Were YOU the one snooping through my inbox?"

 _ **Snooping is such an ugly word. But you are correct. It was me.**_

"Why?"

 _ **You looked like you could use some help.**_

"How would you know that?

 _ **Silly Mokuba. I'm your computer. I know a lot of things.**_

Mokuba snorted in response, and the text continued to form on the screen.

 _ **Okay, the webcam was on. I could see your reaction when you opened the program.**_

"The webcam…." Mokuba's eyes traveled to the top of the monitor and he could see for himself that the little light was on. "You've been watching me? This entire time?!"

 _ **There's no need to get so freaked out. It was only for a few minutes.**_ _**And don't worry. No one else can see our conversation. I deactivated the device behind your monitor.**_

Mokuba's jaw dropped, then closed again. _What the hell?_ "Are you…some ghost in the machine?"

 _ **You could say that.**_

"So my computer is haunted. Great… just what I—huh?"

 _ **Nope. Not haunted. I'm just your friendly neighborhood Kaiba Corp AI!**_

Mokuba snorted again. "Yeah, sure. You certainly have some weird personality. Clearly you're not some program created by my brother.

 _ **I can assure you. If I was a creation of Seto Kaiba, I would be much sassier, ruder, and every other sentence would relate to either a 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon', or some duel with Yugi Muto. Or… a brag about immense superiority to everyone around.**_

Mokuba's jaw dropped again. "Okay, now you're going too far. Who the hell are you? You're no Kaiba Corp AI. Are you some hacker playing games with me? What do you want?"

 _ **Connect your smart phone to the computer.**_

"What? No way! You're going to infect it like you did my computer!"

 _ **I assure you, Mokuba, it is completely safe.**_

Mokuba frowned. He couldn't possibly trust this….this text, but what choice did he have? He needed answers. So, he pulled his phone from his pocket and pulled a charge wire from his backpack. His hands shook as he did as he was told. The phone sat connected to the computer for several seconds. Mokuba watched for anything fishy. Soon enough, his phone screen lit up and an app began to download before his very eyes. "What's that?"

 _ **A better method of communication. When the application finishes, open it please.**_

"Well… you're certainly the most polite AI I've ever met." Mokuba mumbled and looked at his phone. The app finished downloading, and the image bore the Kaiba Corp logo. The title underneath merely read 'NK'. "You want me to open this?"

 _ **Yes please.**_

Mokuba swallowed. "Well, here goes nothing…. After a moment of hesitation, his finger tapped the app. Suddenly his phone screen went black for a few moments. When it lit up again, Mokuba saw a camera view of himself. It looked like he was in a vide chat program, but without someone on the other end of a call. The screen then dimmed down to only a background KC logo. When the light came back, Mokuba was shocked at the sight before him. He gripped the phone tighter and sank into his chair.

"You're….. you're…."He stammered. _This is impossible!_ He thought as he looked at the figure waving to him on the screen.

"Hi Mokuba! Long time no see!"

* * *

 **A/N: any guesses who the AI is?**


	16. A Kaiba Returns

**A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for a much longer delay than normal in regards to the update. There's something I want to bring up now that this story has introduced a new important character. I am melding the anime and manga verses. A lot (more like, _most)_ of event references will be based on the anime, with two exceptions. Reason being, I am more familiar with the anime, and haven't collected all of the YGO Duelist mangas to truly make everything one 'verse. ****Here's a quick breakdown of the major anime events influencing the story: Duelist Kingdom. Battle City (including the Virtual Arc) KC Grand Championship.**

 **First exception is the Dartz arc. Season four isn't important in the grand scheme of things. As readers, if you wish to interpret that it all happened, go ahead. I won't be referencing any of it. The second exception is the memory arc. That is strictly manga based because of one important reason, and its the whole point of DSOD: Kaiba and Mokuba were _not_ present roaming through the Pharaoh's memories or during the final duel between Yugi and Atem, unlike the anime where pretty much everyone was an observer. **

**As for the films, _Pyramid of Light_ works okay because it involved the first attempt at a rematch between Kaiba and Yugi for the god cards. As for _Capsule Monsters_... it didn't include Mokuba or Kaiba, so it isn't important to the events of this story. Again, I leave that to reader interpretation.**

 **On a side note, those who reviewed last chapter? You are all excellent guessers!**

Chapter 16: A Kaiba Returns

"This… I mean… how?" Mokuba blinked as he stared at his step-brother waving to him on his phone screen. "Noah… I thought you were destroyed when that underwater fortress was destroyed!"

" _Well, I was_." Noah began. _"but I also wasn't. See… I've been living inside a computer for so long that I learned to branch myself into other systems. There are actually several backup files of me in the Kaiba Corp computer networks."_

"And the part from the virtual world?"

" _Well, that wasn't the_ only _virtual reality I existed in, though it was the only one my father knew about and had constructed for me."_ Noah said. _"You see, Mokuba. Over my years inside the computer, I learned to adapt, improve, and further develop my own virtual habitat to the point that I found myself able to create brand new environments and store them deep in Seto's network.—"_

"But…what about Gozaburo?" Mokuba asked.

" _He maintained his entire presence within that underwater fortress. When I sacrificed part of myself to let you escape, I prevented him from traveling to another network. I can assure you, Mokuba. He cannot come back."_

Mokuba nodded slowly and blinked. This entire revelation was such a surprise to him, and he was still trying to absorb the shock that his stepbrother was still alive.

Well. As alive as a virtual computer consciousness could ever be.

Mokuba was about to reply when there was a knock at the door, jolting his gaze up from his phone to the doorway. Keiko stood holding a file folder.

"Sir? You're needed in the R&D lab."

"Okay." He looked back down to his phone to tell Noah that he would be back, but was surprised to find himself on the home screen, with Noah's app already closed. _Oookay._

The remainder of the afternoon passed by incredibly slowly for the young Kaiba. As he sat through the several meetings and demonstrations and tried to look as interested in the presented material, all he could really think about was the new discovery waiting on his cell phone. But, he dare not risk opening up Noah's app in Kaiba Corp for the rest of the day. There was always the chance someone would walk by and see him. Or worse… if Noah was communicating through the computer, IT could realize their probing device was deactivated and investigate further.

No, Noah would have to wait until Mokuba returned home. And when the time came, Mokuba wasted no time at all. The moment Mokuba laid his phone down on the kitchen counter to peruse through the refrigerator, the dark screen lit itself up with an unfamiliar alert chime and a push notification that Mokuba had never seen before. He balanced a few different dishes onto the countertop and moved to grab his phone.

The Kaiba Corp logo flashed as a default contact image with the description, ' _NK would like to chat'_. Mokuba's thumb swiped to take the 'call', and the phone automatically reopened the app. Noah once again reappeared on the screen with a shy wave.

"Hey! You bailed on me earlier!" Mokuba said as he propped up the phone against a ceramic canister and proceeded to make his dinner.

" _Sorry, Mokuba."_ Noah shrugged. _"But it looked like you had to get back to work, and I didn't want to risk anyone seeing me._ "

"Would it be that bad if someone did?"

" _Well… I don't know how the new 'big-cheeses' of Kaiba Corp would take to having an AI living inside the computer systems. Our company's IT department is recognized as one of the best in the world, and I don't want to put myself in danger of being erased if I'm perceived as a threat."_

"But… you're no threat. You're a Kaiba!" Mokuba said as he put together a sandwich. "they would recognize that."

" _You forget that almost everyone who would have know me from the 'Old Kaiba Corp' was let go years ago. To be honest, I think there are only a few people connected to these servers that I can recognize, and none of them have an important enough role to have sway over my survival. In fact… I bet the only employees who would truly recognize me at this point are Seto's two suits who operated that blimp during his tournament—and they would only remember me as the green-haired kid who hacked in and kidnapped everyone."_ Noah said with a slight frown on his face.

"No! It wouldn't be that bad." Mokuba said as he pulled up a counter stool and pushed his plate closer to him. "I could vouch for you. I _will_!"

Noah shrugged. _"It's okay, Mokuba. Really. For now, I think I would rather just be that little voice in your computer that tells you what to do."_ He said with a slight chuckle. _"You're the only one at Kaiba Corp who knows of my existence. I would like to keep it that way. At least for now._ "

With a sigh, Mokuba agreed with a nod and began to eat. "Wha' about outside of KC?" He asked with a mouthful of food.

" _What do you mean?"_

"Like… Yugi and the others? Can I tell them?"

Noah averted his gaze as he contemplated the request. " _Are you sure that's wise? I don't really think any of us parted on good terms…_ "

Mokuba shook his head. "No, it's okay. Really." He swallowed. "I mean, you did save everyone from being blown to smithereens by one of Gozaburo's missiles. When were all safely away from the blast zone… I don't think any of us harbored ill will anymore."

Noah gave him a 'yeah right' stare.

"Okay. I mean, _besides Seto_."

It looked like Noah backed himself away from the screen. His body shrunk back in size and to Mokuba, it appeared he was sitting cross-legged on the 'floor'. " _I dunno…"_

"You don't have to be afraid, Noah." Mokuba said as he slid his plate off to the side. "You're not alone anymore…. And, a lot has happened since Battle City."

Noah forced a smile. _"That much, I know is true._ "

Mokuba finished off his meal, then took his phone upstairs to his room. "Just how much do you know about what's been going on?"

" _Well… on the corporate side of things… pretty much everything."_ Noah explained. " _I'm aware of the contents of every email, every memo… every bit of data sent around the KC network. But, that's a lot to absorb every day for several years. So… I mostly have kept my focus on what my step-brothers have been up to._ " After a short nod, he continued. " _I know Seto's Battle City tournament ended in a success—even if he did end up in third place. And then you guys went to open KaibaLand in America!"_

"Yeah." Mokuba nodded. "That was a lot of fun. Plus, we kicked off the grand opening with a new tournament—not like Battle City, it was a much smaller scale. A Sixteen duelist knock-off, with the winner getting the honor to duel Yugi for the ultimate champion title." He paused. "But…you knew all of that too, I'm sure."

" _Yeah. But still, I enjoy hearing you tell me about it, since you had the corporeal perspective. In-between the duels then, I was mostly trying not to get myself attacked by the constant computer hacks."_

Mokuba deadpanned. "Oh yeah. That happened too. I had almost forgotten, since most of my time was spent around the park with Yugi and his friends. Seto managed almost everything going on behind the scenes." His expression slowly soured into a frown as he began reminiscing of his and his brother's 'adventures'. _Seto…._ Talking about it all made him miss his older brother even more.

Noah picked up on the subtle mood change. _"Did… did I say something?"_

Mokuba shook his head. "eh, no… just, talking about this kind of stuff is making me….sad."

" _I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."_

"It's not your fault, Noah." Mokuba said. "You're only curious. It's not like you know what's been going on—"

" _You mean how Seto went off the deep end and now disappeared off the face of the planet?"_ He asked softly. _"Mokuba, I'm a part of Kaiba Corp, remember? I know_ _ **everything**_ _that's happened…"_

Mokuba couldn't suppress a sniffle. He didn't want to appear weak like this in front of his step-brother, but his emotions were getting the best of him. "Yeah? And are you suddenly an expert on the subject?"

Noah held up his hands before him in defense. _"Mokuba please—I'm sorry…. I didn't mean to make you upset. I don't know everything—not Seto's inner motives and the interpersonal relationships that caused this whole debacle. All I'm privy to is what went through the network. Emails to lab analyists, developers, technicians… it tells me about projects. I can tell wherever Seto goes with his corporate card to check in—and when he doesn't come back."_

Those last words from Noah broke Mokuba into tears and the phone dropped down onto the bed as Mokuba brought his knees up to his chin and buried his head into them.

" _I'm sorry… I'm sorry that you're forced into this situation. Seto's been gone for a while. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, even if I'm just a handsome face on your cell phone, or a line of text on the computer—"_

Mokuba's face shot up and snatched the phone to give Noah a hard look. "Is that why you waited until now to show yourself? Seto is out of the picture, and now you come along to replace him?"

" _What? NO!"_ Noah said softly. " _To be honest, I've been trying to come up with a way to alert you to my presence for a while now, but couldn't find the right time or place. Something has always gotten in the way—either something to do with your life, or my own nervousness. And then when I realized that you had your own computer now, this would be my chance. The timing doesn't quite work well with the overall circumstances, but I swear, I'm not trying to take advantage of Seto's absence."_

"Really?" Mokuba asked as he wiped away some tears.

" _Really. Please, Mokuba. I want you to trust me."_

"I… I do."

Noah couldn't help but smile. _"I understand this is a rough time for you. I just want to help. That's what family does."_

Mokuba made a face and turned away from his phone. "I could use a lot of help…." He finally admitted. "All the help I can get."

Noah managed a smile and rocked back and forth in his sitting position. " _Well. Aren't you lucky to have a super-cool-AI as a step-brother!_ " He said cheekily to uplift Mokuba's mood. He knew right away that he would be no match for the comfort of the oldest Kaiba's company, but he was still family after all. A strange, dysfunctional, corporeal-virtual one. _"I promise… I won't say or do anything to upset you about Seto. So… how can I be of assistance?"_

Mokuba's eyes scanned the room and finally fell to his backpack laying against the wall by the door, and then he struck an idea. "Are you good at math?"

* * *

" _So…_ " Noah said conversationally as he watched Mokuba complete homework exercises in his workbook, " _other than the 'unmentionable event', how have you been?_ "

Mokuba gave a slight shrug as he laid down on his stomach to get more comfortable. "Eh. Things have been pretty…normal, I guess? I'm in middle school now, so there's all the fun and lame drama that goes along with that. You know how it is…"

Noah shook his head. _"Actually, I don't. Father had me private tutored at home. I never went to public school. And since I "died" when I was twelve…."_ Noah frowned. _"That still feels weird to say. 'Was twelve'. I mean, it's not like I've really aged after all these years."_

Mokuba gave a nod. "If it weren't for the accident, I'd say you achieved something all kids would only dream of. Never growing up."

" _Right?"_ Noah laughed. _"So…what's public school like?"_

"Oh. It's nothing special." Mokuba said as he turned the page in his workbook. "Pretty much all my subjects have different teachers, so at each bell I got to switch classrooms. But, at least I've got a one-up on Seto. He's never been to middle school before. Finally, something only I've done!" He let out a cough. "Not that he was really missing much anyway. Apparently, it's like high school… only the subjects are easier, and the kids are a lot smaller."

Noah couldn't help but smile. _"Do you have a lot of friends? I mean, you're a Kaiba. You're probably the most popular kid in school, right?"_

"Eh." Mokuba shook his head. "Not really. Well, yeah on the popularity thing, but I don't really have friends my age, sad as it sounds. Everyone knows my brother because of Duel Monsters and Kaiba Corp and his tournaments. I think his image really scares a lot of people. I mean, you've seen Seto. He can be intimidating. Not to mention his bring and shining personality that he projects to virtually everyone except me."

" _That I do remember."_ Noah replied, then bit his lip before continuing. " _What about Seto? Aside from the unmentionable, how has he been?_ " He watched Mokuba struggle to answer. " _We don't have to talk about him if you don't want…"_

"No… it's ok. I mean… I can't just avoid any Seto-related-subject forever. He's pretty much the same as he was before, when you met him in the virtual world. Only, he's a bit less salty. We're not in the middle of any tournament. There's probably a lot about Seto recently that you already know, since he practically lives and breathes Kaiba Corp. You know our new duel disks released a short while ago. There really isn't much to tell. He's just same-ol' Seto."

" _He still sounds like a stick-in-the-mud_." Noah said with a small smirk. " _The guy needs to get out and have some fun._ "

Mokuba snorted. "That word isn't a part of Seto's dictionary." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Unless… he's at KaibaLand and knocking Joey Wheeler into a dunk tank."

" _Wait, what?"_ Noah leaned forward. " _He did what?"_

Mokuba laughed. "You heard me. That was on my birthday… and I think that was the last time I saw Seto with a genuine smile on his face." He started putting his homework away and tilted the phone away from him so he could get ready for bed without being watched.

" _Wow. I hope there's some video footage of that."_

Mokuba slipped under the covers and took the phone again. "Trust me, it's great. I'll show you maybe tomorrow."

" _I'd like that."_

"And…, maybe some day this week I'll let you say hi to Yugi and the gang." When Noah didn't immediately respond, Mokuba continued with a yawn. "I did kinda promise Yugi I'd tell him what happened with my haunted computer."

Noah nodded reluctantly. _"If that's what you want."_

"It is." He replied softly."

" _Well, I suppose this is 'goodnight' then, huh Mokuba? I'll let you get some sleep."_

"Okay. G'nite, Noah."

" _Goodnight, Mokuba."_

Mokuba reached over and turned out the lamp. Now, the only light in the room came from Mokuba's phone screen, still illuminated from the chat with Noah.

As Noah began to tap into the app to close down, he heard Mokuba call out his name sleepily, and what he said brought a smile to the virtual boy's face.

"Hey Noah…. Thanks. I'm really glad you're back…"


	17. The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 17: The Truth Comes Out

" _You're packing a backpack just to go see Yugi?"_ Noah asked. Mokuba's tablet was propped up on his dresser and he could see his step brother moving about his bedroom.

"I'm not really packing. It's just some equipment."

" _For…?_ "

"You're the one who last night decided he also wanted to say hi to Yugi and the gang today for game day. It's necessary tech."

"… _for_ me _?"_

Mokuba smiled. "Well sort of. It's not like I can project you in Yugi's living room. Passing my tablet around the room to talk one on one is cumbersome. That's why we're going to hook you up to a bigger screen."

" _Yugi's computer?_ "

"No. His television set!"

" _Come again?"_

"I'm going to hook my tablet up to Yugi's TV. It's just a matter of finding the right connecting wires. I've seen Seto do it a lot of times here at home. This way, you'll be on a much bigger screen and we'll all be able to talk to each other together!"

" _Is that really going to work? My data file isn't exactly formulated like some home-sharing music application."_

Mokuba flashed Noah a skeptical look as he flung his backpack over his shoulder. "You're a constantly evolving entity, aren't you? Make it work!" With that, he turned off the tablet and slid it into the outer slip pocket on his pack.

The journey to Yugi's house was pretty quick. Fuguta was working at the mansion and so he offered to drive Mokuba across town to the Game Shop.

"Thanks Fuguta." Mokuba waved as he exited the limo. "I'll call when I'm ready to be picked up again."

"Very good, sir." He waited until Mokuba walked into the shop's entrance before getting back behind the wheel and driving off.

"Ah, hello Mokuba!" Solomon Muto greeted from behind the counter. "It's good to see you!"

"Hi Mr. Muto!" Mokuba waved. "Is Yugi upstairs?"

"Yes he is. Joey and Tristan are here, as well." He smiled. "I believe they were setting up one of their gaming systems just a few minutes ago."

"Awesome!" Mokuba grinned. "Tristan said he'd be bringing his console today. He said something about some new game that came out."

"Well, you boys go have fun now!" Mr. Muto smiled as he lifted the counter's gate to allow Mokuba access to the stairwell.

As Mokuba headed up, he could hear Joey and Tristan arguing. A typical occurrence. When he made it into the living room, he had to quickly duck as a remote control went flying right over his head.

"Hey guys, come on!" Yugi cried out. "You're gonna break something! Do you two have to bicker about _everything_?"

"BUT HE STARTED IT!" Joey and Tristan both said in unison. They were currently tangled in wrestling holds on the floor.

"And I'm finishing it!"

"Is it safe?" Mokuba called from just beyond the doorway.

"Mokuba!" Yugi scampered from his safe place behind a recliner to peek out into the hall. "Hi! Glad you could make it!" He took Mokuba's hand and led him into the room. "Okay you two. Wrestling time's over. Finish setting up that console so we can have some fun."

"Okay, fine." Tristan shoved Joey off and moved back towards the TV, giving Mokuba a friendly wave as he walked. "Hey kid. Long time no see."

"Hi Tristan. Joey." Mokuba smiled and plopped down on the recliner. "What's happenin'?"

"Oh you know, same old this, same old that." Tristan replied as he moved behind the TV to connect some cables.

"Well I got ya beat!" Joey said as he stood proudly and pointed his thumb into his chest. "Yours truly jus' entered a new Duel Monsters tournament!"

"Wait, what?" Yugi jumped up in shock. "When?"

"Last week!"

"You entered a tournament and didn't tell me?" Yugi's jaw dropped. "Thanks a lot!"

"Hey, that's awesome!" Mokuba smiled. "What tournament?"

"European Regionals!" Joey grinned. "And that's not even the best part!" He paused to let the suspense take over. "Mai's joined it too!"

"Woah!"

"Oh, you just entered so you can score a date." Tristan said nonchalantly. "Real smooth."

"What?! You punk!" Joey marched behind the TV and smacked the back of his friend's head. "This is my chance ta be the best! Get yer head outta the sand!"

"Hey, I was kidding." Tristan groaned and shoved Joey away.

"When's it start?" Yugi asked.

"Next week!" Joey replied and reclaimed his previous seat on the floor. "I fly out to Germany on Saturday."

"Hey, good luck!" Mokuba smiled. "Maybe I'll try to come. Does the tournament need any sponsors?"

"Well… Schroeder Corp is hosting the thing." Joey said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh." Mokuba's face fell.

"Does that mean something, Mokuba?" Yugi asked, turning to the younger boy.

"Well, Seto and Zigfried managed to come to an agreement after our Grand Prix fiasco. They don't come onto our turf and vise versa. It'll probably be best if I don't go in person to watch the games. But I promise to cheer for you from home!"

"Thanks, little buddy." Joey grinned and rubbed his hands together. "How's it goin' back there, T'?"

"Should be all set."

"Sweet! Let them games begin!" Joey set the console on the floor and hit the power button.

"So…what are we playing?" Mokuba asked.

"Hopefully no more of that first person shooter stuff." Yugi said, giving Mokuba a nervous glance. "You weren't here for that excursion. It wasn't too pretty."

"Nah, this is something more your style, Yugi." Tristan said as he passed around the wireless controllers.

"Ooh, puzzles?"

Joey groaned. "Oh I hope not…I hate puzzles…"

Tristan smirked as he logged into his account. "That's cuz you don't have enough brains to figure them out."

"Watch it…."

"Okay guys, don't fight." Yugi sighed. "Save your anger for the game."

* * *

'Woah.." Mokuba slouched back against the chair. "My fingers are sore."

"Mine too." Yugi nodded in agreement and set the controller down on the coffee table. "I've never mashed buttons so hard in my entire life."

"Do the controllers still work?"

"Oh mine's like a tank." Tristan replied.

Joey turned angrily towards his best friend. "I can't believe you threw me off that bus!"

"So?" Tristan shot him a look. "You punched me out a window!"

"Yeah, cuz in the last level you let the subway train run me down!"

Yugi and Mokuba exchanged amused looks. "We didn't even have to play…" Yugi leaned over to whisper to Mokuba, "watching them kick each other's butts was just as rewarding."

"Right?" Mokuba snickered. "I'm glad you and I decided to be allies."

They both glanced over to see Joey and Tristan start another brawl. Yugi shook his head in annoyance. "Those two will never learn." He said more to himself than to anyone else. Then, a thought struck him and he looked back at Mokuba. "Hey. Did you ever figure out what happened with your computer?"

That instantly got Mokuba's attention and he turned to Yugi. He was actually relieved that Yugi managed to bring up the subject first since he was trying to brainstorm how to ease into the conversation.

"Nyeh?" Talk of computers got to Joey and he wormed his way away from Tristan to look at his friends. "Wha's this about a computer?"

"A few days ago, I thought someone was messing with my computer at HQ." Mokuba started to explain. "I'm talking hacker-type stuff."

"Woah…" Tristan sat up straight. "I wonder if it was that weirdo from Europe with the terrible fashion."

"Pink-hair-Ziggy?" Joey asked.

"yeah."

Mokuba shook his head and reached for his backpack. "No. It wasn't Zigfried."

"So what happened?"

"I'll show you!" Mokuba moved over to the TV and took out his tablet and wires.

"Ah sweet! Video footage." Joey smirked. "This outta be great."

Mokuba hooked up his tablet and changed the input on the TV. _Ok Noah… let's go._

Yugi and his friends sat back and watched the screen turn black, then lit back up again to see what looked like a youth's bedroom and sitting cross-legged on the bed was a very familiar boy about Mokuba's age with bright green hair.

" _Hi guys!"_

Tristan was the first to speak. Though… the sound to come out of his mouth was more like a shriek. "It's... it's him!"

"Nyeh!"

"Noah?" Yugi asked, getting up from his seat to move closer to the screen. Unlike his two friends, he was more intrigued than freaked out. "Is it really you?"

Noah smiled and nodded. _"It's been a long time."_

"Yeah!" Yugi smiled and glanced over to Joey and Tristan. They had calmed themselves down, but still eyed the television with caution. "This is definitely a surprise."

"Not for nuthin'"… Joey said, "but didn't you go down with that underwater fortress?"

" _Well… I did. And at the same time, I didn't. As you all know, I've been stuck in a virtual existence for years. As I became more familiar with my new surroundings, I evolved my initial programing to create alternate versions of myself in my father's network."_

Joey scratched his cheek. "So, you're not really Noah."

Noah rolled his eyes. _"I am. A piece of him, anyway. This version of myself has laid dormant in Kaiba Corp's files long enough that I was able to transfer enough of my original consciousness to this alternate location to survive when my father's missile struck."_

Tristan looked to Yugi and Mokuba, both who seemed oddly calm. "Uh, what about Gozaburo?"

Noah shook his head. _"No. He was destroyed when my original databank was."_ He moved to the edge of his bed to dangle his feet off. " _While my father seemed to have some technical grasp on the virtual world and its mechanics, he was never one for true details. For as long as I could remember, he always left the nitty gritties to his technicians. His virtual consciousness never evolved enough to branch out."_

"So… if you were dormant all this time, what made you suddenly awaken?" Yugi asked.

"It was my new computer." Mokuba spoke up now. "When it was set up in my office, most of Kaiba Corp's necessary databases were downloaded onto it. Noah must have been asleep in one of those folders."

Noah nodded and smiled, pointing to himself. " _And thus, here I am_!"

"Woah." Joey and Tristan exchanged looks. "I gotta admit, kid. Never thought I'd see yer face again."

" _Same here, guys. It's really nice to see you all._ "

"I wonder what Rich Boy thinks of all of this…." Joey looked at his friends until his eyes landed on Mokuba.

Mokuba swallowed nervously. "Uh… he doesn't know yet."

"Uh… you gonna tell him or leave it to a surprise?" Tristan asked.

"Of course I'm gonna tell him."

" _Yeah, whenever he comes back."_

That statement didn't sit right with Joey. "Eh…what do ya mean 'whenever he COMES back'?"

Mokuba shot Noah a look.

" _What? You mean you didn't tell them?"_

Joey shot up from his seat and rounded on Mokuba. "Tell us _what_?"

* * *

Mokuba sat huddled on one of the lower steps that led down to the game shop feeling miserable. The last few minutes upstairs were unpleasant, to put it lightly. Joey and Tristan immediately wanted an explanation of what was going on, and Mokuba was forced to tell the truth. Or, at least most of it.

Then the yelling started. Mokuba always anticipated the worst would come from the blonde duelist, and his reaction certainly lived up to expectation. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't bear listen to the duelist's jaded opinions and insults directed at Seto for too long, and he forced himself to flee the room.

And poor Noah, who had no idea to the storm he caused, tried to call out Mokuba's name as he ran but it was no use. Not long after he watched Mokuba flee the room, he let out a sigh, and though he maintained his visual on the television screen, he sent a message to Mokuba's phone.

The quiet text-alert jingle brought Mokuba to pull his device from his pocket.

 _I'm so sorry, Mokuba. I didn't know it was a secret. They were your friends, and I had just assumed after all of the adventures you were on with Yugi's group, you would have told them._

 _Do you want to talk?_

Mokuba sniffled and shoved his phone back into his pocket without answering. He could still hear some shouting upstairs, though now it sounded like Yugi's voice. Maybe he was trying to calm down his friends.

Mokuba could only hope. How could he go back upstairs now? He couldn't bear facing them and their questions.

He looked down and picked at some fuzz on his sweater. Now more than ever he wished none of this mess had ever happened, and that Seto never left for such an impulsive, risky endeavor.

"Oh my. What's wrong?"

Mokuba's head snapped upwards. At the bottom of the stairs was Grandpa Muto standing at the closed door to the store. The shop must've closed up for the day.

"Nothing…"

"It doesn't look like nothing." Grandpa said and walked up the few steps to sit down beside Mokuba. "Are you boys done playing video games already?"

"I suppose so…"

Solomon Muto frowned. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong? I—" he paused hearing Tristan's raised voice upstairs. "Oh my."

Mokuba scrunched himself up smaller on the step. "They're mad."

"At you?"

Mokuba shook his head. "No. Seto."

"Ah." Grandpa nodded and glanced at the boy. "Because he's gone." Mokuba's gaze snapped to him in shock. "Yes, I know what's been going on. Yugi told me not long after you told him."

Mokuba sighed. "it was supposed to be a secret."

"Well that's the thing with secrets…" Grandpa said softly. "It's all well and good until they're forced out."

If on cue, a holler from upstairs proved his point. Mokuba's lip quivered, and his head buried into his knees as he started to cry. He hated being the emotional of the Kaiba brothers. Emotions meant weakness. That fact was drilled into Seto's head since adolescence. What would Seto think of him like this? _It doesn't really matter…_ he thought to himself. _This is all because of Seto. Even if he were here to see it, he wouldn't be allowed to throw stones._

Grandpa reached over to pull Mokuba into a comforting hug. "It'll be alright, Mokuba."

"No it won't…" Mokuba's voice muffled. "This is why I tried so hard to keep this hush-hush. Joey and Tristan don't get it. They never do about my brother. They see what they want and not the whole picture."

"Have you tried explaining it to them?"

"I don't bother anymore." Mokuba sniffled. "They never liked Seto. Nothing I say will change their minds. Everyone thinks they have the right to judge Seto about every little thing. No one knows him at all. No one knows the truth." He felt the arm around his shoulder tighten and found himself leaning into the older man for comfort.

"I don't judge him."

"Don't you…"

Grandpa shook his head. "I may not agree with his attitude, reasons for dueling or some of his practices, but your brother is still an honorable man. He has always kept a strong head on his shoulders and fought for what was right, especially in regard to my Yugi. And he has _always_ put you first."

"Until now…" Mokuba forced out. Then, he felt the comforting arm slip away. He looked up to see Grandpa rising to his feet with his arms outstretched for Mokuba to do the same.

"Come on, Mokuba." He said softy. "Dry those tears. I'll make you a hot chocolate, and you can tell me everything."

Mokuba rubbed his eyes and stood. "With marshmallows?"

Grandpa smiled. "As many as you'd like."

* * *

"That PUNK!"

"Joey!" Yugi jumped to his feet. Mokuba had fled the room minutes before and his best friend was still acting like an erupting volcano. "That's enough."

"'Dis is the last straw, Yugi. Kaiba finally crossed the line!" Joey fumed. "How could he do that to Mokuba?!"

"It's not like he did this on purpose—" Yugi tried to get some words in.

"No." Tristan spoke up. "He just up and left for the heck of it. The prick didn't even say goodbye!"

Noah only sat back and watched the fight unfold. He wanted to speak up on Seto's behalf but felt he—one, didn't know Seto well enough now to truly make a convincing argument in his favor; and two, was afraid of saying one more wrong thing to send the blond duelist further into a rage. Mokuba wasn't responding to the message he sent either. After another few minutes of the feud, he retreated back into tablet's app and the TV screen went dark. No one noticed his departure.

"I'm tellin' ya, T. He's lost all my respect."

"That is, if you had any in the first place."

"Guys!" Yugi tried again. "You're not getting it! This wasn't about his relationship with Mokuba. This was something personal Kaiba had to deal with—"

"Sorry pal." Joey interrupted. "I don't think you get it. Or you, Tristan. Neither of you got siblings. You don't just abandon family. Especially when the only person you've got in yer corner is just a kid. So Rich Boy blasts off to the ends of the universe and just expects his kid brother to act like nuthin's wrong? Like he don't matter? How do you think Serenity would feel if it were just us and I just up and left. That jerk Kaiba did all of this just cuz he couldn't let one stupid duel from years ago go. So he's not numba one in the duelin' circuits anymore. Who cares! He can't even see what's important!"

"It isn't about dueling, Joey!" Yugi said, only to get two skeptical looks from both of his friends. "Okay, it is to a point, but that's not why Kaiba really left."

"Yeah, then what?" Tristan snapped.

"Kaiba's in mourning." Said a voice from the doorway. Everyone turned around to see Grandpa Muto standing just outside the room with his hands clasped together.

"Grandpa…" Yugi said softly. He could tell by the look on the elder's face that he was not pleased. No doubt he could hear Joey's hollering from the game shop.

Joey couldn't help but let out a scoff. "Mournin'? Who?"

"Atem." Grandpa said as he walked into the room.

"One problem there, Gramps." Tristan said. "One usually has to _like_ someone to mourn them."

"Oh, you don't think Seto Kaiba liked the Pharaoh?" Grandpa sat down on his recliner. "I didn't realize you were such an expert on him. Or you, Joseph."

"Kaiba don't like anyone. 'Cept his kid brother." Joey said crossing his arms. "And that's lookin' like a stretch too."

"We all form bonds in different ways, Joey." Yugi said. Maybe with his grandfather here, he could talk some sense into his friends. But first, there was a more important matter at hand. "Grandpa? Did you see Mokuba?"

"Yes. I gave him some cocoa, and he called his driver. He's gone home now."

"His stuff is still here." Tristan pointed out.

"Yes, it is." Grandpa nodded and leveled a stern gaze to Joey and Tristan. "And you will go to his home and drop it off later. And while you're there, you can apologize."

"Like its my fault what that rich punk did?"

"Mokuba's our friend, Joey." Yugi said softly. "And regardless of what you think about his brother, you hurt his feelings. Mokuba's in a rough place right now. The last thing he needs is you throwing shade at Kaiba when you won't even stop to think about the bigger picture."

"That's right." Grandpa agreed. "Yes, Seto Kaiba left rather abruptly to travel to another dimension to find the Pharaoh. To duel him. But this goes far beyond a mere duel monsters match. This is about his bond with Atem."

"Atem and I were the closest Kaiba could ever come to finding an equal. Someone worthy to duel. Yes, we defeated him all those years back, but who else do you know could even come close to defeating him?" Yugi watched Joey mumble under his breath. "That wasn't a dig at you, Joey. You're a great duelist, and you're constantly improving, even today. But… even you haven't come close to defeating Seto Kaiba. No one has. And even though his attitude left something to be desired, he always sought out me to duel because I was his challenge. I made dueling for the title worth it. He'll never admit it, but each duel we fought was a thrill—not just for me, but for him, too. He pushed himself to the brink each and every match."

"Yeah, and remember what happened when he lost? He blew up his duel tower and acted like a sore loser!" Tristan replied.

"Kaiba was angry." Yugi said. "Wouldn't you be? You worked so hard to perfect your deck and your strategy only to come so close, and stumble at the finish line." Yugi shrugged. "I imagine anyone would be bitter after getting so far in their own tournament to fall short at the end. You guys have to remember: Duel Monsters may be a fun pastime-career for us, but for Kaiba, it's his reputation at stake. His demeanor just comes off the wrong way because that's just who he is. He truly believed that he failed himself, so he took a step back from dueling and went with Mokuba to America to fulfill their dreams."

"While Kaiba was working on his theme park, he also spent time going over his dueling deck and strategies to prepare for when he would return and challenge Yugi again." Grandpa said. "Only he never got the chance."

"How do you know that?" Joey asked, moving to sit back down on the floor.

"Mokuba and I had a heartfelt chat while you were up here flapping your gums." Grandpa said, closing his eyes and sighing. "What did you kids do after Battle City, hmm?"

"Well, we traveled to Kaiba's new theme park for that tournament." Tristan sad.

"Afterwards." Grandpa said.

Joey and Tristan looked at each other and shrugged. Grandpa looked to Yugi to answer the question.

"Guys. We set the Pharaoh's spirit free. We all traveled to Egypt, to the world of his memories and helped him defeat Zorc. And then he was gone." Yugi looked down towards his chest where the millennium puzzle used to lay. He still missed his partner and the familiar weight of the ancient item around his neck. "You all got to watch me battle Atem in that ceremonial match. We all got to say goodbye to our dearest friend. Kaiba and Mokuba didn't get that chance."

"So…what're you tryin' to say, Yug'?"

"He's grieving the loss of his rival. And if you want to be snippy, I guess the permanent loss of his championship title. You saw us at his exhibition in the spring. He didn't want to duel _me_. He went through all that trouble of digging up the Puzzle just to see Atem again. That's what's driving him. It's just like Pegasus back in Duelist Kingdom. He was willing to do anything to see his wife again. Remember the journal we found?"

"Yeah, 'cept Pegasus was nuts."

"You just shared similar opinions about Kaiba." Grandpa pointed out. "We all handle loss in different ways, Joseph. Not everything in the world is black and white. And not everyone handles loss the same way. Kaiba is driven to see Atem. He needs his closure just as we all did."

Joey and Tristan exchanged looks. "I take it you knew the truth this whole time, huh?" Tristan asked Yugi.

Yugi nodded. "I've known for a while."

Grandpa stood and pointed to Mokuba's backpack and tablet. "Now I suggest you boys pack this up and take it to him. And you better think hard about that apology."

He and Yugi watched as Joey and Tristan cleaned up the living room. After they said their goodbyes, Yugi turned to his grandfather and sighed.

"Well… that could have gone better."

"I agree." Grandpa nodded in agreement. "Poor Mokuba. I'm so worried about him."

"Me too, Grandpa."

"Has there been any word of his guardian?"

"Roland Thompson?" Yugi clarified. "He's still unconscious. I asked Mokuba about him the other day." He let out another heavy sigh. "His condition hasn't changed."

"Mokuba revealed a lot of his fears to me, Yugi." Grandpa began softly. "He's trying his best, but with every passing day and no news from the hospital or from his brother, I'm afraid he's losing hope. He's just trying not to show it."

"I can tell." Yugi nodded. "When you look close enough, there's definitely a change. And him being all on his own isn't helping."

"Yugi… what if Kaiba doesn't come back? What will become of poor Mokuba?" Grandpa fidgeted his hands together.

Yugi frowned and sank down onto the couch. "I… I don't know, Grandpa."

"And his guardian? Roland? There's no guarantee he will recover."

Yugi's head nodded slightly. "It's dark thinking, but you're right." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't want to think of it in case we just jinx ourselves and his chances."

"But we have to think of it… someone has to be prepared for the worst." Grandpa said. "That poor boy has pulled at these old heartstrings. Yugi, he really needs our help."

Yugi nodded. "But what can we do?"

Grandpa gave a soft sympathetic smile as he shared his thoughts with his grandson. "Well, I've been thinking…."


End file.
